June Wrap Up

It has been a very busy month! Lucinda Green clinic in the beginning of the month, Fox River Valley Horse Trials in the middle, and hosting the Kim Severson clinic at the end!

Lucinda is always an amazing clinician. She teaches something no one else teaches-- how to ride when it all goes wrong. And it so often does on cross country, that I think what she teaches ought to be required learning for anyone who wants to go out on a cross country course, at any level! Lucinda was very impressed with the changes in Baby Z during the last year! She did up our bit to a gag, which really helped us, but I'm pretty sure that using it even a couple times was enough to remind her she is in fact supposed to listen to me! By the Kim clinic, we were back in the Waterford with more obedience than ever before!

Fox River Valley was a bit of a weather rollercoaster. Hot and dry, then pouring cats and dogs, then hot... rinse and repeat! Z was a star, breaking into the 20s in dressage (my first time ever in the 20s!), double clean show jumping, but a bad jump into water cost us some time, and frazzled me enough that I went the wrong way for precious seconds! The footing was deep enough that we weren't going fast enough to make up for any mistakes, so we ended with 9.4 time penalties, dropping from 3rd to 7th. But at least Zahra doesn't know we didn't finish on our dressage score! She was such a star in the toughest conditions she has ever run in so far. Check the helmet cam to see how chewed up it all was by the time we went! Thanks to Adam for all the great pictures!

The Kim clinic had a very rocky start, with Kim's plane being cancelled Friday night, and delayed again Saturday morning. She finally made it in after 11, to O'Hare, and we got the first group started by 2:30 back in Madison. We rode all afternoon, some through rain,  getting everyone in, although the last group ended at dusk! I can't thank the awesome volunteers/co-organizing cohort who got things set up while I drove Kim from Chicago... and drove... and drove.... did I mention I took a wrong turn and we took I94 through Milwaukee? With all the construction and delays going up I-90, we only lost about 20 minutes, but still, a lot of miles covered that day! Everyone had great rides, and those that rode in March had all made obvious improvements in the past 3 months. It was great to see!

Sunday was finally a gorgeous day! The only gorgeous day we've had for Kim, I was afraid she was going to start hating Wisconsin! She started us off by making a galloping path for 350 meters per minute, 400mpm, 450mpm, 500 mpm, and 520mpm. This is the first time I'd ever timed myself to figure out my pacing, and it was hugely educational! Zahra covered the training speed without exertion, so I can stop fretting so much about time! This is definitely a tool we will come back to! Then we warmed up over a galloping oxer, did some serious gymnastics with the ditch, utilizing the very narrow triple brush on an off-set 4 stride line. After some work with the water, we were ready for our big trip to Ohio!

Otter Spring

So what's the opposite of humble pie? Victory cake? Whatever it is, I'm having seconds, because Zahra was awesome this weekend for our training level debut!

We had a less than stellar test that still earned us a highly respectable 36.4, putting us in 4th... I didn't feel that we put in that good of a performance, but Zahra's flashy movement made up for an otherwise lackluster test. We will be working hard on our figures between now and FRVPC, and who knows? Maybe I can crack into the elusive 70% Club! Part of me is still just happy to stay in the ring through the whole test, but as Z grows up, it's fun to start pushing her to be that extra little bit better each time!

Image courtesy Adam Frizzell Photography

Cross country was perfect!! An ideal course to move up on, there was nothing that had me particularly worried as I left the start box-- a great feeling!! I rode without a watch, letting Zahra set the tempo, since I just wanted a good experience for her, and didn't feel obligated to worry about time. We came in about 30 seconds slow, but with a very happy horse and rider! None of the jumps gave her a moments pause, and she was incredibly rideable throughout the course.

Image courtesy Adam Frizzell Photography

Show jumping day Zahra was a bit tired, not that I blame her after the Spring we've had! Our fitness program is behind where it should be for this time of year because of the late snows and persistent sloppy footing. We kept warm-up minimal to preserve her energy, but was very happy that she really lit up once we got in the ring! We got a bit flat to the first and sixth fences, having a rail at each. I don't think the height was any issue for her, just needs a little more fitness to really shine on Day 3!

Image courtesy Adam Frizzell Photography

So yeah, if we had finished on our dressage score, we would have won. But then again, as Jon Ketzler always says "If I hadn't been bucked off in dressage, had 3 run outs cross country, and 4 rails in show jumping.... I could have won!!" It's a 3 day sport, and right now we're good in all three, but watch out once we get great!!

And look! We got a pretty brown ribbon!!
Image courtesy Adam Frizzell Photography

For all the pictures, please visit Adam's smugmug page.

Spring Bay; or, winter to summer in one weekend!

Well, I am over the moon with Zahra after this weekend! Her ridability has come so far since her first show last July, and really grown leaps and bounds over the winter, despite being stuck in the indoor since November!

Photos (c) O'Shea Eventing

Dressage was just about all I could ask for. It was her personal best, absolutely. She was soft and relaxed in her trot work, her canter departs were a bit early, but soft, and if I'd only halted at the right letter, she'd have done 2 points better! There's still room to improve, absolutely. Once soft and relaxed are the norm, then we can push for brilliance, but one stride at a time!



Show Jumping was very good. I put her in a couple bad spots (most notably, the double, I gave her a terrible spot to jump in, forcing her to really reach for B), but she's so athletic, she saved it for an easy double clear. I know this is where I need my work!

Cross Country was so exhilarating!! Having not been out to school, I felt like it could have gone either way. Maybe she'd refuse to leave warm-up, maybe she'd run off with me? But neither was the case, although she did try to keep galloping up the hill past #4, so I did have to set her straight there! You'll see it in the HelmetCam! She was spot on to everything, and by the time we were at 10, I was completely giddy! She was as happy to be out as I was, and all I had to do was point her at the next set of flags, and she'd take care of the rest!

We're both feeling fully confident to make the move up to Training at Otter Creek in a few weeks, although I do hope the Wisconsin weather improves well before that!

Midsouth, and a Fond Farewell to 2012

Midsouth was our final show for the 2012 season, and although Zahra and I were poised to have our best showing of the season, it was not meant to be. Dressage, I was horribly late to warm-up. After less than ten minutes, we did our first canter circling the ring before we entered. The test was tense, we go the wrong lead at first try going both directions, but I still actually had quite a bit to be proud of! Zahra is a high strung four year old. She has boundless energy and enthusiasm. So the fact that she could just march into that ring with no warm up and go to work is still pretty impressive! Nothing fazes this horse, and I think with a little more discipline she'll be unstoppable in the sand box!

Show Jumping was not all I could have hoped for either. We flattened going into fence two and pulled a rail, then pilot error between fence 4&5 put us on a rotten line to have fence 5 down as well. I need to work this winter on slowing my emotions down in the show jumping ring, and supporting with my elbow to keep her from flattening. Ledges, here we come?

But thankfully, no one events for dressage or show jumping. Cross country is what its all about, and we completely smoked that!! This girl knows her job, and she loves it! Check out the helmet cam on our youtube page. Ears forward the whole way round! I wanted to push her a bit faster this ride, and she did it easily, coming back to me nicely before fences and accelerating away from them. At Otter we had 0.4 of a time penalty. This time we were just 2 seconds away from too fast!! A few jumps I really set her up to, while others I let her choose her own spot (to varying degrees of success). I think its important she learn now how to take care of herself out there!

Eric Dierks coached me over the weekend, and it was fabulous getting his professional eye on us, giving us good things to work on for the winter. His knowledge and guidance has completely shaped all aspect of my riding, and imbued in me the passion for correct and methodical training. It's never been about winning for me, only about getting the best ride I could, and that drive comes from his early guidance. So when Eric said he agreed with me that Z could move up to Training next year, I was thrilled!!! She's mastered the basics. Time to up the ante!

See you in 2013!!

Otter Creek Photos

Just a selection for your viewing enjoyment! All photos (c)Xpress Foto

Otter Creek Fall

Otter Creek is by far my favorite show. Everyone is so nice, the facility's are all top-notch, the jumps are all immaculately built... and the party ain't bad either! Zahra continues to improve, adding only a little time to an unnecessarily tense dressage test. The comments were good, and basically promised better scores if only the horse wouldn't buck so much...

We have a schooling show this weekend, so we'll be getting into the sandbox TWICE to practice some ring craft, as well as a trip around the showjumping ring!

Stay tuned, Richland and Otter photos coming soon... :)

Richland Recap

Well, I have to say I'm very pleased with my little girl. Unfortunately our final score can not tell you how good and brave she was!! Richland was very big, with lots of "atmoshpere" and stuff to spook at, but Zahra soldiered on. She got a little sick of the show grounds by Sunday (read: breaking everything she could drag into her stall), but was absolutely the happiest horse alive rocking around the cross country! I went back to watch our helmet cam, and her ears were pricked forward the entire round... even locking onto a few Training, Intermediate, and Advanced jumps!! She definitely feels like she has what it takes. Of course, I did say "our score can't tell you how good she was" so it was no rose garden... ;-)

Zahra's still very green, so we had plenty of "green moments" such as:

-leaving the dressage ring twice during the Young Event Horse Test (this was my fault... I warmed her up too long)

-leaving the show jumping ring twice during the Young Event Horse Test (that was her fault)

She scored REALLY WELL in confirmation--basically the only phase she couldn't be naughty in!! And the comments from the other phases I think accurately represented where she's at in her training-- a bit downhill in her balance, and a bit naughty! She has a bit more growing to do, both physically and emotionally.

So, learning from what happened during the YEH, during the actual show I 

-cut off the last third of the dressage ring to make sure she stayed in. The judge was either kind or didn't really notice. She gave me a 6 for "falling in."

-bought a bit burr to use in show jumping. It kept her in the ring, but backed her off of the jumps, so she had one rail, and I decided I wouldn't use it for cross country.

-so she started to do her mad dash to the left about 8 strides before the second water complex. It wasn't ACTUALLY fence related, and I think she *might* have made it between the flags, albeit on her face (there was a tiny step down into the water that I don't think she would have seen if we went full tilt)... but regardless, I circled, and it was so close that they gave me a stop. 

Moving forward, we need to practice some more with the bit burr so she gets used to it and we can move on with our training (without it!). I see it as only a temporary tool to fix a very temporary problem. 

Onwards and upwards, can't wait for Otter Creek! Photos coming soon!

Zahra's First Show!

Finally the stars align! Zahra has been ready to make her debut since mid-May, but I think she wanted to wait until I was going to let her at the "big fences." Yes, that's right, I planned to move her up to Novice at Roebke's Run, and despite missing my first two shows, I decided to stick with the plan! She is much more mature and prepared now than she was at the beginning of the season, so I saw no reason to run around a BN course just to confirm what I already knew: she's ready!

Going into the competition, I had a lot to stress about-- how she would react to the atmosphere, whether or not she would try to "exit" the dressage ring, how she'd feel about leaving the start box on cross country, what she would think of doing a full course, how she'd react to the show jump ring...! It was enough to make me want to steal a lick of GastroGuard!! A lot of people were a little shocked that I would take my four year old to her first show Novice, but the jumps themselves were the least of my worries! Of course, little did I know that this was a BIG Novice course. Everything looked as though it was built to maximum specifications-- BIG bank, BIG ditch, lots of "AB" combos-- but although it was all big, it was all pretty straightforward, exceptionally well-built, and inviting.

Sophie in the rather large Novice ditch!

(c) D&G Photography

My strategy for dressage was next to no warm-up. Just let her loosen up a bit in the canter, and then straight into the ring. I didn't want to give her time to "think" too much about what we were doing, or get too attached to the warm up ring. My plan worked to an extent. She was loose and supple when we left warm-up to circle the ring. Of course, she spooked a big one as soon as she saw the judge sitting in her box!! In the test itself she was as rideable as I could have asked for-- she was tense, but stayed workmanlike, despite impossibly deep footing that could have easily justified a full blown melt down! She finally started to fall apart at the end of the test, bucking a flying lead change into her last circle and trying to leave the ring (twice) before the final diagonal. We got a well deserved "3" and "1" for those movements! But there were lots of 7s in there as well, so when the relaxation comes, so to will the good scores!

Cross country began with a melt down as we left the box ("I don't know if I should leave all those horses...!"), but as soon as she set her sights on the first jump, she was ALL BUSINESS! By fence 4AB, she was on course and jumping out of stride. Of course, 5 was the aforementioned Big Bank. My plan was to trot in to it to give her a chance to check it out, but I think if I'd kept my canter, she would have hopped right up. Instead, she trotted right up to it, stopped, sniffed, and scrambled up it from a standstill. We got 20 penalties, but talk about an A for Effort!

The rest of the course rode really well. She overjumped the big ditch by a mile, and started to get sticky to the last few fences as she got tired, but she was game for every single one of them. Doing a full course is not the same as schooling 3 or 4 in a row, and by fence 12 I could feel her wondering whether or not we were done. She rallied beautifully when we made the turn for home though! Also, it didn't help matters any that it was well over 90 degrees! We had 14 time penalties from the circle before one, and the trotting into fence one and five, but I was unwilling to push her in the heat during the long gallops to make up for it!

(c) D&G Photography

Now for a quick aside-- holy COW does Roebke's do an amazing job with its volunteer force!! When I hopped off my horse at the end of the course, volunteers took my tack onto a cart to take back to the stables for me. They took my horse to hose her down, and they had cool water for riders and the horses at the ready! I was so impressed, I'd go back again just for that!

(c) D&G Photography

Show jumping has always been my weakest phase, so I gave myself a pep talk: Zahra doesn't know I dislike show jumping, so I should keep that to myself as long as possible! Upon entering the ring, she spooked sideways away from the crowd. I played it off as my courtesy circle and brought her around to the start flags. Just like on cross country, once she set her sights on the first jump, it was all business! She was tense for the first half of the course, knocking a rail at 3, but after fence 6 she became very soft and rideable. It was actually the first time I've felt a horse become MORE rideable as the course went on! Zahra may teach me to like show jumping yet!

Haha! But seriously.... its true.

In the end, I could not have asked for a better first time out. Our final score really doesn't tell the story of just how good my little mare was, and how immensely proud of her I am. She had her mini-melt downs in each phase, but she was willing to work through them and not just shut down. Once she understood the task in front of her, she got down to it, and you can't ask for anything better that that!