Thoroughbred Transformation Expo - Day 3 and final thoughts

Saturday evening we got the tentative schedule for Sunday- stadium 930-1130 and then dressage 1-230. The stadium course was VERY straight forward. No related distances, the closest was a bending 9 stride line from 5-6. There was a roll back from 4-5, but plenty of space to make it a casual roll back. 

I did the hunter thing and walked him to the arena in his halter. When the first two novice horses had gone, I put on his bridle. I then rapidly found myself in an empty arena, I think there were a couple of scratches because there were supposed to be about 10 novice horses going. A bystander was kind enough to set an oxer for me. He knocked it the first time, but pulled out his measuring stick for the second go. Then we went in and did the thing. He tried to pull his Stable View move of acting like he'd never done this before, so I wacked him at the base of 1. After that he got himself together and it was pretty lovely. He spooked at 6 as we were headed to 8, so we pulled the last rail. I just didn't get him focused with his shoulders up quickly enough. Still, it felt like a confident, fun round. The kind person who had set jumps for us commented on what a lovely shape he made over the fences. Good boy, Ben. 

Then he got sponged and tied to the trailer to dry while I cleaned tack. He can't be trusted not to wallow when he's wet, and I had braided, so I wasn't interested in trying to fix rubbed braids full of shavings. After he was dry, he got to eat his lunch and chill in his stall for a little while. They posted dressage times and we went in the middle of the pack. 

He warmed up soft and lovely again. And then they started playing polo during the rider before me. I don't have a picture, but the polo fields are quite some distance away, but not far enough for the horses to not notice like crazy. He gawked a bit in warm up, but went back to work. But the warm-up ring was slightly further from the polo than the dressage arena. He balked and hopped some having to go into the arena area at all, and then was totally on fire the whole test. Our free walk straight up was not (the score was generous) - he made it 3/4 of the way of the first loop and then lifted his head and turned to stare straight over at the polo fields. Then he jigged during the second half of the loop, twice. Our canter depart was exuberant and our canter lengthening was really a hand gallop. But this did push us squarely into the category of MORE shown. And we actually ended up with a 68%; scores were markedly less consistent, but we did have a few 8s sprinkled in this time, including for the canter lengthening I called a hand gallop. I guess that is a good metric of what the judges actually want to see vs. what it feels like on his back! The 68% set us in 4th in the open division, sadly juuuussstt out of the prize money. But we got a pretty neck ribbon and gigantic wall ribbon for our trouble as well as a gift certificate to ACE. 

The dressage judges were encouraging and understanding of his tongue habit the whole weekend, and I am so grateful. We got some great feedback to take to our dressage lessons (YAY! Someone has been coming to the farm, I just am behind in writing!) and to move forward with. 

Staged photo the next day since it was starting to drizzle as they were handing out ribbons on Sunday

Overall, we had a great experience at the Thoroughbred Transformation Expo and, schedule allowing, I'll be back next year, potentially with both boys. It was a lot of fun to hang out and watch all the disciplines, especially the freestyle. They have great sponsors and prizes, and being able to win prize money is pretty awesome. One downside is that the levels are a bit limiting - ideally next year Ben would be solidly doing second level work and toying with the idea of modified, although let's be real, we'll never be too good for training level and they do offer 3'6" show jumping if we wanted to go that route. It was also run a lot more like a hunter show (I think) in that ride times were not necessarily available days before hand (we got Friday dressage times on Wednesday evening) and sometimes (ie show jumping part of eventing) you just got a general gist of when you might go. It was small enough though that this flowed pretty well and just required a bit of paying attention. Everyone was super friendly and helpful and it was great to meet a few more people with TBs. 

Thoroughbred Transformation Expo - a short day 2

I would walk the course in photos like usual, but sadly we didn't get to do it all. He warmed up great, was jumping fantastically, had not done a single chip and squat, and then we got to the up and down bank, #8. 

The up bank went fine. But the down bank landed in the shadow from the mound itself. And Ben thought he was jumping into a black hole and stopped. The judge in the chase cart let us school down another but then told me to "ride at it like your pants are on fire" and yelled at me that of course it wasn't going to work when I didn't do that strongly enough. The attempt led to him running backwards rapidly, which is really not great on a raised mound. It's also 100% not the way JT has us ride down banks. You don't need momentum to drop down a bank, so we do them in a super relaxed fashion, go off on a loose rein. According to her, and I believe it, this is how you keep them from doing dramatic launches. Sure, if I'd approached it with spurs DUG in the first time, we might've gotten off it, but after that riding it aggressively wasn't going to fix it. 

Sadly then, that is where our day ended. Unlike our run out in April our first year together, this was a legitimate fear. Dude had been DOING IT until that point. He knew his job and was out there doing what we've worked so hard to train him to do. This was just... A spooky horse, an amateur rider, and some tricky shadows. I was half bummed about our score and half bummed that we didn't get to play on the rest of the course! 

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out and watching. Ben is such a pleasant horse to hang out with, he's a bit like a golden retriever. I did tidy up his mane a bit as well to make Sunday's braiding job easier than Thursday's.

I put Ben up and sat in the bleachers for the freestyles. There were some truly incredible performances. One fire fighter themed performance complete with fake smoke, rescuing a dog, pulling a stretcher, and jumping through a "ring of fire" (colored sparkly streamers around a small picture frame jump). Another drove and did flying changes and crossed a teeter totter and sliding plank that rolled forward (in a controlled fashion) as the horse stepped onto it. Overall incredibly impressive. I joked with JT that Goggles would do one next year that featured him as a barber. He's been doing some... Trimming of Waffles' forelock and tail (Sorry Libby!!). We're still not sure how Waffles is letting Goggles get this close...

Thoroughbred Transformation Expo - Day 1

The Thoroughbred Transformation Expo is kind of a local version of Retired Racehorse Project. It is open to all thoroughbreds though and is divided into open and restricted divisions. Open is horses >3 years from their last race. You could enter two of the following disciplines: Hunter, jumper, eventing, dressage, working ranch, or freestyle. It was a reasonable price ($400 for two disciplines and stabling the whole weekend) and there were promises of prize money and division prizes. Ben and I entered eventing and dressage. 

Friday morning Ben and I hauled down to the Horse Park, mostly in the dark. It was a chilly start but by the time I was tacking up it was warm enough I swapped the long sleeve show shirt for the short. I had braided him the night before and tested out his slinky and fly sheet combo overnight for the first time. It worked quite well. My braids left a little to be desired because I slacked on pulling his mane, but the slinky held what was there in place well.

Wonky braids and Christmas lights. We listened to Bach piano inventions while I braided this time.

Pretty sunrise

Ben warmed up really, really well. I felt a bit like he was maybe too relaxed and soft and maybe a smidge lacking in power. However, with how our lengthenings had gone on Thursday in the cold and wind (very little trot lengthening shown, lots of other things though!), I was okay with that (I was also correct). 

We did first level test 2 first. Man are straight dressage tests LOOOOOONG!! We were doing first 2 & 3, but I just ran through first 3 twice at home and then tried to dump it from my brain until I needed it again Sunday. We were supposed to have a 30 minute break between first 2 and training B, and I was going to refresh myself on the training test at that point. But the dressage ring was late and the eventing ring was on time, so we went straight from one to the other. I'm happy to report I did not go off course and only had one moment in training B where I thought "What the fuck am I supposed to do next??"

The first level test was overall super nice. He was soft and pleasant and accurate. We got some great feedback and things to work on in the comments. 

I wanted to hug her for the comments

Then we moved on to training B. Other than one lengthening that just plumb didn't happen, it was lovely as well. Ben, bless his heart, felt a bit confused going from one dressage test into another, but never got nappy or cranky. But that might've also contributed to the lengthening that wasn't. I also didn't set him up in the corner well at all.

The judge said to me at the end "I'm sure you know, but I have to take a point off each movement for his tongue. But he is absolutely lovely". I thanked her and thanked her for commenting on other things. 

We are nothing if not consistent, a 67% equivalent in both rings. 

Then we (Ben) set up Ben's stall by spreading shavings. He got some hay and water and his braids pulled and then got to chill for a while. 

Loves to wallow 

And rehydrate his hay 

I took him for a walk in the afternoon, and he spent a solid 3 minutes staring around. Not in a spooky way, I think just trying to figure out what TF came next. This was already weird, two dressage tests then a stall. But there's cross country in the distance...

Frozen mid step trying to sort it out

More pondering

Other than getting a little freaked by the trail horse obstacles, he was much more mellow at the horse park than he was at Rocking Horse when we stabled there. I caught him mid nap in the middle of the day when I got back from walking the cross country course. 

We ended up with a 3rd in the open dressage division for the day, which was good enough to move us along to the finale class on Sunday. The top six horses in each division (restricted and open) got to go on. For dressage all the open horses did first level and the restricted horses did training level. For eventing, only open horses could do training level, but otherwise it was a mix of starter through training with all horses doing all three phases unless there was an elimination. Ben and I were actually the sole training pair though. We got a fifth place for our eventing dressage test in the open division. I could really get to like this ribbon for each phase thing. 

Ben's Busy Week (with a saddle saga side story)

Tuesday: Ben served as the demo horse for my saddle trial. The saddle is actually for Goggles. But the saddle fitter/owner of the company recommends jumping things the size you plan on/would like to eventually jump. So in steps Ben. 

The saddle company is Tobias Saddlery. The company is owned and run by a husband/wife team. Frank Tobias worked on Porsches and Ferraris for years and then started working as a fitter/rep for a saddle company. He saw flaws he could fix and then started designing his own saddles. A few people, independent of each other, recommended these saddles as a possible fit for Goggles. I don't remember if I detailed it on this blog, but I spent a not insubstantial amount of money shipping saddles back and forth from HighLine tack to try on Goggles. And other than an Antares that fit him but that I hated, we didn't come up with a winner. 

The first time Frank came out, he worked only on Goggles, which was probably an error on my part. He fit the saddle to Goggles and I worked him for about 15 minutes in it. My first impression was amazing. Goggles has always had a good walk, but he positively had that cat like smooth saunter right off the bat in the saddle. He felt supple and like he could lift his shoulders. Excellent, seems ideal, sold? 

But then. I rode Ben in it. And felt a bit... loose in the tack over fences. Flatting was fine, but over the jumps themselves I felt my leg slipping. JT said it looked like I couldn't put my leg on at the base. Hm. Okay. So Frank came back out, this time with his wife. And when they assessed the saddle on Ben, they figured out a few reasons why I might feel that way - primarily that there was too much motion. 

His basic tests for saddle fit are: 

1. Pushing down on the pommel and seeing how much "squish" there is - there shouldn't be much

2. Pushing on pommel and cantle and seeing how much rock there is - there shouldn't be much

3. Pushing side to side on the pommel - the horses withers/body should move side to side with this (aka there shouldn't be much motion of the saddle without motion in the horse) 

So he adjusted the saddle to fit Ben better, and we tried again. 

Hm. Still not as secure as I feel in the Forestier. We played a bit with stirrup length, which helped. And tried a 17 vs the 17.5. In the end, I have a 17.5" with his "ultimate" panel in it - the panel should help it fit both Ben and Goggles without needing adjustment in between. 

Frank and his wife have been incredibly generous with the trial and with their time. I have had a saddle of theirs for going on 4 weeks now (with active communication the whole time). He has said his saddles are not for everyone and he wants every client to LOVE their saddle. There aren't any pushy sales tactics, just a genuine desire to make it work.

Ben was very interesting in the saddle. I didn't notice a big difference in his way of going, but at the end as I sat on  him chatting with them, he stood square without any resting a hind leg. I hadn't noticed he usually shifted from one hind leg to the other until he DIDN'T do it. 

Wednesday: Ben and I did a jumper round at Majestic. While on paper it was worse than our round in October as we prepped for Rocking Horse, it felt a heck of a lot better. JT had designed the course and said she did it with me in mind. It started with a single oxer, which we actually manage to not usually biff, I got plenty of problems, but the single oxer typically isn't one. Then there was a roll back right to a 5 stride to a bending 6. Left hand turn up the diagonal to a 4 stride to a 2 stride to a bending 7. Another right roll back to an oxer then a bending 7 to a triple of a 2 to a 1. Left hand turn to a single vertical and you're done. They weren't technically supposed to put the triple in for training because you can either have two doubles or a triple, but as they put it up, JT said she wasn't upset by it. LOL. Writing this out, there were only two jumps on the entire course that weren't related. 

And we did all but one of them with the right striding. He was actually moving and going forward, yay! I did let him cross canter waaaayyyy too long between one and two, and then I didn't quite get him straight enough and forward enough for the diagonal line of the four to a two. And he derped through it. The lovely part about these schooling shows is they let you fix things. So as I finished, JT came into the ring, helped pick up the rail and yelled to me to just keep coming around and come through the middle line again. We did and it was much better. Good boy! Feeling ready for the Florida Thoroughbred Transformation Expo next weekend. 

Some video grabs if you don't wanna watch the whole thing. 

#8C - last part of the triple 

#7 off the right hand roll back

#2

Thursday: Ben went down to JT's barn. We hacked in the Tobias and then we jumped a few of her new XC jumps. I actually liked it a lot better over those fences. I didn't have the guts to try it on Wednesday at Majestic, the last thing we need is to have a crummy round because I can't get my leg on or am getting jumped around and can't land and put leg on. 

Then in the afternoon/evening, Ben and Goggles had their 6 month dental recheck. Goggles actually got a better report than Ben. Ben has an area that was left excessively tall and has a corresponding divot that we've been working to fix since I got him in January 2022. He made some progress growing in the low tooth, but not enough that she felt he could go out to 12 months. Ah well, she likes to check the baby horses every 6 months anyways, so he'll just stay on the same schedule. 

The late afternoon dental visit did mean that Ben and Goggles were the only two left in the barn and they got to hang out. Ben wanted to lick Goggles face, as he does, Goggles wanted to bite Ben and his halter, as he does. It was adorable. 

"Ima BITE his face!" 

Goggles had two loose incisor caps that needed some help getting out. When he was done in the spring (which I can't find a post about right now...) he had one then that took some digging to get the spike from. He has some crooked incisors, so the caps need some help getting out of there. I guess this is common in LARGE young horses. His premolars and molars had ETR - excessive transverse ridges. She took those down a little bit as well. Overall though, she said that Goggles is likely going to have a better/easier to maintain mouth than Ben once he's done growing. 

Pre-sedation, checking out what was about to go down

Both boys were very, vey well behaved for their dental work. Good kiddos! 

And THAT wraps up Ben's busy week. Next week we're schooling on Monday at Magnolia Sands then mayyyybeee an at home dressage lesson with a new trainer if the stars align. Then Friday morning, bright and early, we'll head down to the Thoroughbred Transformation Expo for the weekend. 

Fall Rocking Horse Recap: Cross Country

Finishing up our - drawn out into three posts - show recap today! 

Let's tour the course first... then we'll do as much of a photo diary as I have, thanks again to XpressFoto. 

#1 - Log box headed kinda towards the parking

#2 - Bench, headed away from parking

#3 - little pimple jump then veer right through some woods to 4

#4 hut then a quick left hand turn through the trees before a little gallop to 5AB

#5AB - Triple to wedge

B was a 6 stride bending line from A, then a long gallop up to the brush

#6 - Brush roll top 

#7AB was this coop then a steep, unriveted downhill

B - flagged downhill into the sunken road

Through the sunken road

#8 - table under the tree at the top of the hill, then a long gallop

#9 - mushroom shared with N

#10 - my old fave MIM oxer then a fairly quick right hand turn to the water

#11ABC - coop to flagged water entry to cabin 

#11C - cabin then a gallop uphill away from the water

#12 - Big Red - shared with modified, then a long gallop again to 13

#13 - corner, backed up to the prelim B corner, then another long gallop

#14 - mushroom

#15AB - half coffin, right at the edge of the woods with the ditch rails painted bright white

#16 - flag

#17 - finished! 

Overall, it rode REALLY well. I was so happy with Ben. It feels surreal that we're back out here doing it. 

Leaving the box. He might've been going a bit sideways towards the trailers... that was a new one

#1 - a bit shocked to find himself out jumping

Weeeeeeee

Let's do it! 

#2 rode just fine, we got ourselves together a bit more by the time we got there, so it was less sideways than #1. 

#3 - very clever over this

LOL at me riding like I immediately have to yank right. It was definitely a gentle turn and a ways to #4

#4 was a bit chippy and short and I told him he needed to get his shit together. Which he did. JT and I didn't have time to walk the whole course together unless I wanted to hang out quite late on Saturday. So we did a highlights version and did the water combo, the sunken road, and the half-coffin. The 5AB combo didn't even register on my radar as that tricky, but there were a lot of stops and even eliminations here. I LOVE wedges though. The first time we jumped one, JT told me shoulders up, hands wide, leg on. I expected a bit of shenanigans from Ben because of who he is, but he jumped that first wedge fantastically, and then I decided I loved them. Since then I ride them like I love them and he jumps them great; it is a great self-perpetuating cycle that we have. 

#5 - jumped this much better than #4, and we're already looking right and I'm pulling back a bit too much rather than opening right

B - GOOD BOY!

Then we got held. I've never been held on course before and of course forgot to stop my watch. The two of us in the division with time penalties both got held. I think it's just hard to pick up the same rhythm again. 

But fortunately the rider wasn't injured, and we picked ourselves back up for #6 and took full advantage of brushy brush

We got held because someone came off at the sunken road at 7. Which made me ride it SOOOO positively. JT had said to get his shoulders up and ask for a tight spot in so he didn't fly towards the drop, shocking both of us. I was saying out loud "Get your shoulders UP, balance UP" as we came into it. I heard one of the jump judges say "Nice riding" as we came through it, which made me so happy. We had a rather uninspiring jump over the table at 8 though because he was spooking a bit at the shadows. I was glad we had the shared N table to build the confidence up again before ye old MIM oxer at 10. 

That he jumped the snot out of and I rode wayyyyy in the backseat. Sorry bud! 

The jump looks irritatingly small in pictures

11A - Same coop as the sunken road and he jumped this one well too, right from the base, wrapping around

And through the water, he jumped C really well 

And jumped big red well too

 

The rest of the course didn't get photographed, but he jumped the corner really well and kept his focus in spite of the other jumps around. The next table rode fine too. The half-coffin might be the scrappiest riding I've done to date. He spooked hard at the ditch, which I knew was coming, but I kept my eye up on the log and pushed him through. He considered noping out of the log at B, but again, I kept hands up and spurs in, and he popped over it. The really nice part about Ben is he's got A LOT of athleticism to go with his spooking. So as long as I can confidently push him forward and tell him he's DOING IT, he will in fact DO IT even if he has to finagle a little bit because of how he got himself into it. 

We went through the woods to have probably the worse chip of the course at 16 (8 being a close second with 4 behind that). JT could see us at that point from the finish, but we cleaned it up for a nice jump over 17. 

We ended up with 10 seconds of time, but I'm not upset about that. Without that we would've been third, but as is, we finished fifth in our return to training level. AND, more important, we finished on a number with a happy, relaxed stadium round and a good go of it cross country. It wasn't a super easy cross country course, and I'm so proud of both of us.