June 2024 Terrouges

Professional photos by NC Phillips

Long time, no post. We spent April and May tucked away at home, putting in the reps and giving DH time to heal and adjust as he returned to work five months post-op. He's doing super great, but we'll be on this recovery journey for a little while. In the face of having my sweet husband by my side, horse shows on the back burner was barely even an inconvenience.

We took advantage of the time off from test riding to do loads of strengthening exercises. Coach J came out twice and got us stuck into endless canter travers circles, then endless canter half-passes, flying changes on the wall, and medium-collected-medium canter transitions. We cantered until both horses had big round bums and I had legs of steel.

Thunder was originally not into all the cantering

Things came together for us to do another horse show last weekend. Of course, since I had picked a much further show venue than usual, I also drew the first ride time of the day. I dragged my poor, long-suffering husband out of bed at 4am on Sunday morning to load the two beasties in the box. Love is patient and kind indeed, even when your crazy little spouse wants to run around outside in the dark when it's -1C (30F).

We were alone with loading the two critters and I don't really want DH to hold horses who might yank him around yet, so I made a master plan. While DH hooked up the box and sorted out lighting, I got Arwen and Thunder dressed, then brought Thunder---the less chaotic one---to the box. He walked right in, we shut his chain, and I dashed down the hill to grab Arwen.

To Thunder's credit, he was really good. He called a few times but didn't stomp around even though he had no other horses in sight. DH stood by the box door and chatted to him while I attempted to wrangle Arwen, who had been totally chill until she heard the velcro on her travel boots and knew that she was Going on a Quest. She was galloping around the small paddock where she'd spent the night, tail flagging, snorting, and as I always do, I wondered if she was afraid to load in the box.

Nothing could be further from the truth. When I got to the paddock gate, she ran up to me and shoved me so hard with her nose she nearly knocked me over. I leashed the beast and she physically dragged me to the horsebox---not back to her home field, in the other direction---and then trotted into the box with me flapping behind like a kite's tail.

You're not leaving me behind, she snorted on a cloud of steam.

not even kidding about the steam

Thunder looked mildly concerned by her chaotic presence, but she booped him with her nose and then settled in to eat hay with great violence. Despite the cold, I travelled her only in her day sheet to see if we could mitigate her sweating. Thunder had his fleece on and I left all the windows open.

We stopped once to check on them when we picked up BarnRat at her house down the road, and both were eating contentedly, so we set off without further ado. The drive took nearly two hours, but the horses barely moved, and when we arrived to a frigid sunrise just before 7am we were right on time.

We unloaded the horses and BarnRat wrangled Thunder while I tied Arwen to the horsebox and got to work. She was much quieter than she'd been at Easter Fest, and stood chowing her hay while I ran a brush over her and saddled her up. For once, she'd also barely sweated in the box, only a couple of spots on her shoulders and pectorals. I hadn't put a tail bandage on---she hates them---and I think that may have contributed to her stress level being lower, but also, honestly, I think she gets really hot in the box more than actually stressing that much.

Either way, it was nice to have a cool, dry dragon to saddle up. She stood tied like a champ while I quickly got Thunder beautified. Then I squeezed myself into my brand spanking new long boots---I know, I know---and we headed to the warmup.

BarnRat used Thunder as a hot water bottle

Terrouges is a new-to-us venue but felt safe and homey because my bestie Erin stables her horses there. With BarnRat bringing Thunder along to keep everyone chill, Arwen and I headed into a beautiful mirrored indoor for warmup. Arwen hasn't been indoors much, but she didn't miss a beat.

What's up, sexy? she asked the pretty grey horse in the mirror, then went straight to work.

We had a chill, uneventful warmup with a ton of stretching. She felt like she does at home, totally unbothered, but I spent more time stretching her out than usual and thought it was a mistake when the ring marshall called me down before I'd done any collected trot work. We did have time for plenty of lateral walk and canter work, lots of stretchy trot, and a bunch of changes, though, so I wasn't too worried. Arwen's trot work is usually on the money from the word go.

Thunder dragged BarnRat around a bit as we headed down to the arena. DH assumed his position to take video. I walked past the judge and said a quick hello without the awkward introduction rigmarole and then the bell rang and we were off to ride Third 3 for the first time.

We marched down centreline and had a steady, straight, square halt, but as soon as her feet stopped moving, Arwen threw her head up to gape at guys watering the arena next door, so that garnered a 7.0: "straight halt and square, inattentive, more balance." To her credit, she set off boldly as soon as I asked and didn't look at the guy again, although she was a little unbalanced in the C-H corner throughout the test so I think she was still eyeing them a bit.

Our medium trot was a 6.5; it felt rhythmic, obedient, and steady, but maybe a bit conservative. We headed into the shoulder-in right for a 7.0 and got another 7.0 for the two half circles. Our half-pass left felt solid to me, but got a 6.5, "showing bend, more fluent." Fair, she can be a little hurried in the half-passes.

Her extended trot felt absolutely incredible. She was on the aid, balanced, and throwing those toes as high as they can go. Honestly, watching the video and seeing the pictures, I'm pretty surprised she didn't get a better mark for it. It was outstanding. We got a 7.0 for the extension and the transitions.

🔥

The halt at A was good, but we both botched the rein-back a little bit, losing rhythm. I felt one step was not fully diagonal so I asked for another. That was a 6.5, "square halt, willing rein-back, one step too many". I'll take it. The rest of the trot work dipped a little in the marks, with 6.5s for the shoulder-in and half circles with the comment "hurried" (it was a bit), and another 6.5 for the half-pass left, our more difficult way, comment "keep bend".

We proceeded into the turns on the haunches, which I ride every single day at home because I know I'm not great at them. They were solid at home. In the test, I completely ruined them. I get in my head about this one specific movement and reliably destroy them at shows. We got a 5.0, "stuck one step", and a 6.0, "more fluent", which was more than I expected. She jogged a little into the first one which earned us a 5.0 for the medium walk, "more rhythm". I felt that was pretty fair.

Our extended walk was conservative in the interests of maintaining the rhythm, so we got a 6.5, "more overtrack, correct rhythm". We found a small triumph in the canter transition at K, which was a 7.0, "obedient". I've historically destroyed those in tests, too, so I was pleased with that.

dragon magic

The canter half-pass felt a bit mediocre and clearly was; 6.0, "showing bend to [illegible], keep parallel". She kept it together nicely into our harder change, left to right, where she can sometimes jump or prop a bit. Her change felt close behind but very obedient and I was a little annoyed by the mark, 4.0, "late behind". It was close behind, not late.

Our half-pass right was another 6.0, "more suppleness", but her easier change was really good and got a 7.0. She charged gloriously through her extended canter for a pleasant 7.5: "bold, slightly hurried". We haven't had great marks on the extended canter, so I was chuffed with that. Somehow, our transitions were a 6.0, "show more".

She was a little abrupt into the collected trot for 6.5, but our final halt was super for 7.5, "almost straight."

I was over the moon with the test as we walked out. She was infinitely rideable, so obedient, so focused, and so energetic. I loved every second. Although I botched the TOH, I was also really content with how I'd ridden most of the test. I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable in the show ring and it shows in quiet, effective riding that's more like what I can do at home.

Our collectives were fairly solid: 7 for paces, 6.5 for impulsion with suppleness underlined, 7 for submission, 6.5 for rider position, and 7 for aids. The judge's comment was "Accurate and obedient test, slightly hurried in extensions. Keeping steady frame and fairly good bend."

Our final mark was 63.8% and fourth out of five. I think there were a few movements that she deserved a bit more and that we could have gotten less for our TOH, but overall, I was chuffed with the mark---a new personal best for Arwen.

4th... out of 5 lol

There was little time to reflect on the test. I bounced off Arwen, switched numnah and bridle number to Thunder, and bounced onto him. (We definitely need another white numnah and bridle number for future shows, which would have made this so much quicker and easier). BarnRat was greatly relieved to be rid of the Thunder menace, and I had to quell some nerves as we headed to the warmup. The last few times I rode Thunder off-property were abundantly crappy. We had spooky, naughty lessons at the Friesian stud, a generally tense and spooky experience at J's (my bad, nobody else's), and a really naughty and spooky last show at Easter Fest 2023.

He got a round of ulcer treatment before coming home from J's, though, and I think a lot of that spooking was linked to his tummy. A lot of it was also linked to the way I rode him back then. I haven't been good about being clear and consistent with him, leading him to do more or less whatever he wants, which includes spooking at everything when he senses inconsistency in the one who's supposed to know what she's doing (me).

He wanted to spin around as we approached the indoor when Arwen was out of sight, but there were plenty of other horses around, so I put my leg on and ordered him to get his butt in there and stop being ridiculous. He swiftly responded by putting his head down and going straight to work. Though BarnRat did stand by the warmup with Arwen, he didn't try to nap towards her the way he's done with friends at shows in the past. In fact, he almost completely ignored her, and we got to work with a minimum of looking around at things.

I was really proud of the fact that he was so chill and rideable, but our warmup was far from satisfactory. While he wasn't naughty or spooky, he felt like the pre-training Thunder---the one whose response to all of my aids tends to be half-arsed. Not outright rebellious, but not obedient and willing either. He was only sort of on my aids, and this manifested in downright lazy, late changes.

We went down to the arena having achieved the bare minimum, and then found that we had five more minutes. I dithered for a second. My show nerves wanted to hang by the arena to get him used to the area more, but I knew we could do better, so I turned him around and marched back to the warmup with the purpose of getting him on my aids. I tuned him up with some lateral work, being uncompromising about moving off my leg, and tapped him through a couple of cleaner changes, and we made it back to the show arena with him feeling a bit surprised that I'd brought my big girl pants.

He was really fabulous about entering the arena. It's not particularly spooky, but there are definitely things to look at, and Thunder just... didn't. He was all business. We headed down the long side with shoulder ins changing direction every few strides to get him off my leg. Then the bell rang, and we boldly headed down centreline.

He wiggled into his first halt and was a bit inattentive and cheeky, but we got a 6.5, "straight entry, quarters right in halt." Our medium trot was unbelievably bad, which it always is, and garnered a well-deserved 6.0, "go with horse's trot; against movement." Yeah, first I need to make the medium sittable, then I can sit on it.

His trot lateral work was absolutely phenomenal. Although he was trying to fall behind my leg and go above the bit where he could, he finds this work really easy, and I didn't have much difficulty keeping him flowing. A long string of sevens followed: the shoulder-in, the half circles, and the half-pass.

His extended trot is fairly horrible as well---it's barely a medium trot, to be honest---but somehow he had a 7.0 for that and a 7.0 for the transitions. I know I'm not a judge, but I seriously question those marks compared to Arwen's. She deserved so much better if Thunder got sevens for that movement. In fact, as we flopped through the second transition, I whispered to Thunder, "Wow, that was hateful" and he twitched an ear in agreement.

Anyway, we floated into a really nice half and rein-back at A. Again, I felt not all our steps were diagonal so I took an extra one: 7.0, "halt square, good rein-back, one extra step. Pity." His shoulder-in and half circles were sevens again, but he was starting to get behind my leg into the half-pass right and got a 6.5, "more position."

As we plodded into the walk, I knew I was going to have to ride the living daylights out of this test if we weren't going to bomb spectacularly. He felt as flat as a pancake. Not tired---he hadn't yet broken a sweat or gotten out of breath---but decidedly against my leg. I pulled myself together a bit in the TOH, managing a 6.5, "more active for one stride", and a 6.0, "slight swivel." I can do better, but it was an improvement.  His walk was a well deserved 7.0.

Our extended walk was another 7.0; I think he can do better, but I was struggling to keep him in front of my leg and relaxed, and the extended was not the place to make that correction. We still got the comment "fairly relaxed, more overtrack." Our canter transition was another little triumph. Despite being a bit against my leg, Thunder is nothing if not instantly obedient to the buttons, and I didn't override it, so we got another 7.0 for that.

Things fell to pieces a bit in our canter work but it was not for lack of trying. He can turn into a completely unmanuevrable boat in the canter and he did it at this show. I got after him about it as much as I could, but still ended up carrying him through most of the movements. We had a 7.0 for the half pass, "more position", and a 6.0 for the first change, "through but a little high behind." That was a kick at the whip, which I used to remind him not to be late. He wasn't late, so we achieved that objective. I really dragged him through the next half-pass for 5.5, "more bend and position", but boldly rode the next change for 7.0.

"OK, OK, I'm through, I'm through"

He got a 6.5 for the extended canter, which I kicked him all the way through; I thought that was a bit generous of the judge. It barely extended at all. We collapsed around the short side for 6.5, then had an excellent transition down for 7.0. Our final halt was absolutely super but not entirely square behind for 8.0.

The judge liked him better than me: he got 7 for all three collectives, and I got 6.5s for mine, with comment "more position in half-pass."

Still, our overall comment was "Well ridden test on willing horse," and our final mark was the best I've ever had beyond novice - 67%.

I patted him as we came out, exhausted from dragging him through the test, but unbelievably happy with how well-behaved he'd been. I'd expected him to be a bit tense, spooky, and separation anxious. While he did appreciate having Arwen around (who doesn't like a friend's support?), he didn't look around at her, call during his test, or nap toward her. He was a superstar in that department.

The fact that he ignores my aids and parks behind my leg is a training thing. We've addressed every possible physical cause, and he doesn't do it with J on his back---or with me, if I'm consistent about it. We seldom have behind-the-leg days at home anymore, but I used to be floppier and less effective than ever at shows, and I think he was expecting me to be ineffective. Who can blame him?

My show confidence, however, is at a real high point right now. Arwen's responsible for that, as well as just a ton of personal growth and God's work in me. When one has walked in the valley of the shadow, the dressage arena no longer holds anything all that scary.

DH and I headed back to the horsebox, unsaddled, and spent a pleasant afternoon helping Erin and Jamaica's kid with their tests. Arwen and Thunder spent the whole time tied to the box, eating, drinking, and not putting a foot wrong. The cherry on top was when they traveled perfectly all the way home even though we got a flat tyre (which hubby fixed in minutes, because he's Superman).

It was a truly perfect day with my two dancing horses, my BarnRat kiddo, my bestie, and the man who's always in my corner. Forever grateful for every moment with him.

God is good.

this husband of mine, you guys 💜

Easter Festival 2024

 Two of the best shows of the year are clustered together in our calendar. For some reason, they both fall in the height of African horse sickness season, so it's always a bit touch and go whether we'll be able to attend. Since AHS is midge-borne instead of being directly contagious, I'll usually show as long as there aren't active cases in the area where the show is or in our home area. This has (praise God) been a quiet AHS year in our area so far and we were happy to be able to enter the dressage.

Easter Fest is a week-long celebration of all things horse, with all the disciplines together at Kyalami Park, plus a huge showjumping competition at the end that also features amazing shopping. I love competing in the dressage on the weekend before Easter and then getting to watch the jumping on Easter Monday; it negates that FOMO from watching a show instead of riding. Plus, as always, it's a great way to gain grading points and experience. So we entered Arwen in Third 1.

My ride time was 14:03, which made for a peaceful morning---altogether too peaceful, actually. I haven't shown on my own without kids to worry about in ages, and thus I spent the morning buggering around instead of actually, you know, getting ready. We were a bit late by the time I finally threw Arwen's plaits in and loaded her up, but I didn't let it get to me. It all felt quite relaxed and low pressure even though this is quite a big show.

Arwen was soaked when we arrived at Easter, but traveled well; I think she genuinely gets hot in the horsebox so I'll experiment with traveling her naked for the next show. Either way, she stepped into the parking lot like she owned the place. Picking up on my adrenaline and also revelling in her majestic dragonness, Arwen proceeded to paw and dance around---even trying to get back on the box---while I tried to get dressed and get the stains off her legs.

With hubby's impeccable help, we managed to wrangle the dragon into her tack and I hopped on about twenty-five minutes before her test. I'd have preferred thirty, but it was fine. Hubby trailed behind with a suitable balance of sports drinks, energy bars, and my jacket, faithful as ever, while Arwen and I marched to the warmup.

While "marched" was the operative word, Arwen was all business the moment I got on. There was no dragoning around to be had now that we were working. She warmed up absolutely phenomenal, stretched down the moment I asked, listened to my aids, and offered no drama. The first few changes were a bit explosive but that's pretty normal even at home. We waved hello to Lady Lionheart in the warmup; she has an ammy owner now and looks as happy as a clam, which was first prize (the fact that Arwen kicked her butt was a distant second).

Before I knew it, Arwen felt chill and ready. We took a short breather and a sip of water in the shade courtesy of the most magnificent horse show hubby you ever saw, and then we headed into the big old Peter Minnie where we'd won our working riding three weekends before.

maybe back off the inside rein a little Mrs. Sadler

During dressage shows, the Minnie has a tendency toward a lot of Atmosphere. It's got a looming show office, grandstands, lots of sponsors' flags, and three judges' boxes per arena. One of the Friesians I used to ride ran absolutely the heck away with me in there at my first and only SA Champs in 2021. But Arwen marched into that place like she owned it. She sneered at the judges and we headed down centreline feeling incredible---maybe a little more electric than usual, but focused and listening.

I don't have my usual play-by-play account because some kind soul helpfully fetched my dressage test right before the kind soul I had assigned to the task got there, so it's vanished into the aether, but I know that it was the best Third Level test I've ridden. I made mistakes, obviously, but they were much more minor than forgetting how to canter or breaking for half our long diagonal like last time.

Looking at the video, we had a nice first centreline, then a bit too much angle in our shoulder-in left. The half-pass could have crossed over a bit more, not helped by the fact that the I to H half-pass is really long and shallow for our short legs. We had a tiny miscommunication in the corner when I shortened my inside rein and Arwen thought maybe we should canter, so we took one little canter step and then came straight back to trot, which was kind of hilarious. The shoulder-in right was better but the half-pass was quarters leading at first, corrected near the middle. Our medium trot was fab and so was our halt and rein-back.

The extended walk was fine and so was the first turn on the haunches. I asked for a bit too much going into the second TOH and we had several jog steps, which I'm sure hit our marks pretty hard, but we sorted it out quickly and went on to a really nice walk to canter transition. The medium canter was fine and so was our 10m circle. I felt like our change was fairly nice, but in the video it was a bit close behind.

The extended canter was nothing if not fierce. It certainly needs a bit more sit-and-push as opposed to HAHAHAHA CHARGING INTO BATTLE but there was plenty of difference and the transition down was super nice. We had another nice 10m circle and another close-behind change.

Finally, we had the transition to trot and then the extended trot on the long diagonal, and I tear up a little bit watching the video. This little mare of mine has many, many natural strong points, but she wasn't born with a big trot, yet in her extended trot she absolutely gives everything she's got. She flicks those toes like she's fancy and has so much push and engagement and overtrack it's actually insane. Obviously we will never score like a purpose-bred horse---rightfully so, people spend a lot of money and effort purpose-breeding horses for this sport---but this mare gives every shred of physical ability she's got.

I was beaming as we finished our last centreline. We obviously got the usual knock in scores from riding at a big show with the pros, but we still achieved our goal of over 60%. I felt like it was a much better test than the February one that got 63%, but it was 60.7%, which is just fine. Every second on my lionhearted mare was a privilege with DH by my side.

Grateful for the honor of making memories like these. God is good!

Horse of the Year 2024 - Supremes

 With Wynnie, Faith, Erin's mare and my lovely helpers all shipped back to the farm with hubby, I had an afternoon to hang out at the horse park, never a sad thing to be stuck doing. I watched Erin ride her borrowed mare admirably in a huge championship class, then watched some of the big SASA classes until a thunderstorm arrived. At that point I beat a hasty retreat to Arwen's stable.

We spent a pleasant evening hand grazing when the weather allowed or just chilling while I scrolled on my phone and hung out with my fantastic horse. She was the most relaxed she's ever been in a show stable, snoozing away while I sat in the shavings. It was a very pleasant and contemplative way to spend the evening.

Hubby arrived back in record time, and I dressed her up in her clown suit to stay clean, kissed her goodnight and hopped into the car with hubby. We headed to my brother-in-law's house, where a hot dinner, welcoming arms, and a truly fantastic long hot shower were waiting for us. Erin kindly did night check and sent me a photo of a very happy and well-behaved dragon.

was she chill? yes. did I still put ropes over her door? also yes

The next morning, the class only started at 10:45. We got there feeling fresh and rested around 8. Arwen was totally chill and happy, so I fed her and then took her for a hack. She was a little up when we got out of sight of other horses, but settled beautifully and schooled really nicely in the arena.

Then, thanks to the thunderstorm the day before, the announcer let us know that the classes were running late. So I put the finishing touches on her mane and we wandered off to get breakfast and watch the working hunter... which ran really really short.

The next thing I knew, the announcer was calling the working riding class in---not only on time, but early.

Fifteen minutes of panic ensued. To Rain and Erin's total dismay, I simply didn't have time to sort out the last details of Arwen's turnout. I threw on her tack, scrambled on, and cantered across the warmup arena and into the Bob Charter. That was my warmup.

I found myself second in line, after the Appaloosa working riding champion. Arwen, to her intense credit, was totally relaxed. She didn't let my frazzlement bother her in the least. My frazzlement, however, was considerable. I realized that I hadn't gotten to picking up my test and had no idea what it was. Luckily the very friendly lady on the warmblood champion next to me told me the whole thing. Thank you very much, friendly lady.

With that our names were called, and sans warmup, Arwen and I headed into our second ever working riding supremes.

jumping is not my thing, can you tell?

I wish I could say I rode as well as I had the day before, because if I had, we could have ribboned. Instead, my brain fell out and oozed around on the floor. We cantered up and popped over the jump at number one, then trotted into a lane, halted, and reined-back out with no trouble at all. The wheels fell off a bit at the fan, where I sort of... didn't turn at all, necessitating some scrambling from Arwen.

We proceeded to a pair of barrels, one with a flag on it. She stood quietly for me to pick up the flag and trotted nicely around the second barrel, but my blazing adrenaline was starting to get to both of us, and she fidgeted as I set the flag down again. We had a very short distance to show a lengthened canter I went for it but didn't really let her stretch out, so instead we did a credible impressing of a bouncy ball to the last obstacle, a mat. She cantered onto it and halted nicely, but by then I'd overridden so much that she had resorted to Dragonmode and she piaffed merrily for five seconds instead of halting.

That brought an end to our Supremes test. I was a little bummed that I'd let my brain fall out again, but Arwen was a lot better than last year. It was by no means a disaster---just not the test we'd had the day before, which could have put us in the ribbons.

I felt a bit like I'd let her down as we rode out of the arena, then realized that this is absurd. As far as Arwen was concerned, she'd had a kick-ass time. She was glowing as we strolled to the stables and I couldn't have been prouder of her. I wasn't happy with my performance, sure, but that couldn't detract from the fact that we'd had an amazing weekend with horses and people we love.

This world is so filled with love and splendor that it takes my breath away sometimes. God is good.

Horse of the Year 2024: Ridden Classes

 Our first ridden class for the show was Arwen with a tiny little kiddo. This kiddo rides Faith at home, but she's a bit small for her and Faith can be a handful at competitions, so I gave her the option to ride Arwen instead. Madam Dragon is kind of a legend at the stableyard so the little one was positively starry-eyed at the prospect.

I was desperate for this particular kid - who's had a hard run of it lately - to have a good show. I'd been stressing for weeks about whether Arwen would be good for the tiny tot and my stress levels did not decrease when I saw that she was all alone in her class, so she'd have to go off to the spooky end of the Bob Charter on the dragon right away.

my lil sister came over to watch which I loved 💜

With this in mind, I'd sacrificed prepping Wynnie to perfection in favour of warming Arwen up before the chaos of the in-hand classes began. I needn't have bothered. The second I got on Arwen that morning, she was ready for anything. She was absolutely relaxed, focused, obedient, soft, and willing, but with that little bit of sparkle that makes her special.

After Wynnie's group class, I saddled Arwen up and popped the kiddo on, and they had a relaxed and easy warmup. She was only doing the best walk and best trot classes, so we stuck with that, and Arwen was perfect.

Finally, with my heart in my hands, I sent them in. I knew Arwen would never hurt the little one or chuck her off or do any of her usual dragonishness with a little kid on her, but this kid's confidence needed a boost and I was desperate for her to have a really good class. And Arwen performed like a total pro. They walked around, they completely ignored the stallion who arrived for the best trot class, and Arwen even went in a cute little frame like a proper kid's show pony.

They were alone in their age group and obviously won both, but no kid is ever mad about a bit of satin. The little one was floating in the clouds when they came out. My whole heart unclenched and it was time to relax and enjoy the show.

Things had settled down significantly by this point. I let Arwen have a short rest in the stables while I got my stuff together and did haynets and water for everyone. Wynnie was chilling and eating her hay, happy as a clam; K was getting Faith ready for her class. K and Faith disappeared for their class while I was tacking Arwen up, and I barely saw them to wave to in the warmup before they went inside.

my turn!

I didn't have a ton of time for Arwen's warmup, but it was long enough to establish that we didn't have time to prepare her flying change. So we abandoned that idea and headed in for our class---congratulating K and Faith as they came out with a lovely second place ribbon---with the plan to do simple changes through walk instead.

classy girls 💜 photo by Denford Studios

All I can say about our show riding class is that I rode the best I've ever ridden and my horse went the best she's ever gone. It was one of those rare moments that both of us were totally focused, totally delighted by our work and each other, and in total harmony. Those are the rides we all live for, and I'm always honored when they happen at home. For the first time in ten years of competing, that ride happened for us at the show this time. Arwen was absolutely effortless. I don't remember a single flaw in her rail or in the individual test.

my dragon 💜 photo by Denford Studios

We'd been placed second after the rail - our competition being a gorgeous half-Spanish stallion with incredible movement - but after the individual test, the judge pulled us out and pinned us first against this extremely beautiful horse with a professional showing rider. We earned that ribbon. The judge mentioned to the other ride that Arwen's superior conformation also nudged her into first, so that was cool to hear as a breeder.

The championship class followed and it was a little weird. She stopped to poo as we went in and that's the only reason I can think of that we ended up in the placing were we did. The stunning stallion who came second in our class won the championship and the pony rider came second. We got the gate. I wasn't super mad because qualifying for ridden supremes would have given us a really long day on Sunday, but I'd have loved to know why the placings shook out the way they did; we literally trotted and cantered large for five minutes before we were placed and both horses went about the same as they'd done in the open class ten minutes before.

I was still beaming as we came out. We've never won the show riding at HOY before, but this time, we did it---and we earned it.

There was time to grab a snack and shout some words of support to K as she rushed between arenas, and then I hacked over to the working riding with Arwen. She was feeling fabulous by then, and I was on cloud nine; it was a perfect thing to have my husband riding alongside on his bike as my Arwen strolled merrily on a loose rein.

K and Faith were in the working riding warmup, ready to go in the novice class right before ours. I kept Arwen's warmup short. We popped over a jump or two, did a little work with one hand, and then stood in the shade for a while to reinforce the fact that we can stand still nicely with a rider on. K got a ribbon for being the only novice working riding adult and wrangled Faith admirably; Faith was squiggly but not bad, and boldly tackled all the obstacles, but K had to work for it.

Then it was time for the open working riding---Arwen and I versus a pair of little kiddos on excellent ponies. Both kiddos have given me a run for my money in the working riding before. One in particular was a formidable competitor despite being, like, 10 years old. (You know how it is).

Arwen and I went first. The course started with trotting through a lane and over some trotting poles, no big deal. It continued with cantering through bending poles on a curve, a challenging feat unless you're a Medium dressage horse who has done a lot of counter canter, so she popped through that with no trouble at all. Next we had to halt between two drums and move a basket from one to the other. Arwen was good for this, but I had a complete hand-eye coordination failure, parked her too far from one drum, couldn't figure out which hand to use, and almost bonked her in the head with the basket. She wiggled in protest but we got it done.

Next we cantered over a little jump, which went fine, and then we had to trot around and halt on a green mat. Arwen halted like a stone pillar and got a lot of big pats for that.

It wasn't a particularly tricky test but I thought that the canter bending poles would help us out - she does better the more spooky and the more technical a test is. The kiddo and pony also did a super nice test but didn't halt quite steady between the drums, so we squeaked ahead and got to win the working riding by a nose.

The championship class followed immediately thereafter. K and Faith as well as the novice child rider winner joined us in the arena and we repeated exactly the same test. This time, I not only rode well but actually behaved like a functioning human and moved the basket easily, so our test was pretty much perfect. I was super happy with it.

K and Faith went well too, barring a wrong lead into the jump, and Faith was happy to relax in the lineup next to Arwen. We watched the child riders go with some trepidation---they had nice ponies and they all could ride---and then the results were called. K and Faith were reserve champion. K was so flabbergasted by this that the judge had to call her several times before she actually went forward to get her rosette, and then Arwen and I were the champions. As far as show moments go as a breeder, having a sash on both of my mares was a pretty good one.

K was grinning all over her face as we headed back to the stables. It was her first sash, and I was really chuffed for her. 

Arwen's win qualified her for supremes the next day. We packed up and I sent Wynnie, Faith, and Erin's mare home for the night. All three loaded with no further ado. Arwen settled admirably into a stable next to Erin's riding horse, and Erin and I hung out for a while until it was time for her to go home, and then I just chilled in Arwen's stable with her while waiting for hubby to get back with the two-berth and our overnight stuff.

Supremes would follow---more on that later. God is good.

Horse of the Year 2024: In-Hand

 I can hardly believe another year has passed and it's time for the best and most fun show of the calendar again. Despite the fact that HOY is always the most pressure, stress, and effort of the year, it's also always the most epic. Hubby and I consider it a huge highlight. Spoiler alert: this year was no exception.

I woke up on the Wednesday night before HOY and realized with horrible suddenness that I haven't actually bathed Wynnie since HOY 2023. Not that she really needs it - she is solid bay, after all - but I was gripped with panic that she wouldn't stand for a bath.

a riding school aunt took so many photos

My concerns were deeply unwarranted. Not only did Wynnie stand perfectly still to be washed from head to toe, she was perfect in our handful of in-hand sessions to prepare for her classes. At first she didn't want to trot - until she got her first click and reward for a few trot steps. After that, she trotted up effortlessly with a voice command. I didn't have to pull to get her to go or stop or stay beside me - it was pretty cool.

We also worked on standing square, which she didn't quite do on her own by the end of the sessions but she easily went there when asked. As an aside, this is the first youngster I've clicker trained, and I am absolutely going to do the same with Raya when the time comes. She's at the point where she immediately looks around for a treat when she sees a Scary Thing.

click treat, feat. ugly plaits

Getting her ready that evening in the dark was effortless. She didn't move a muscle as I clipped her legs and face. She even stood sleeping on Friday night while I plaited her mane, which was a total disaster through no fault whatsoever of Wynnie's. Her hair is really long and thick, but has a missing chunk in the middle, so I couldn't show her natural. We ended up showing in the biggest, ugliest, fattest pull-through plaits you've ever seen in your life. Sensitive viewers should avert their eyes.

Faith's prep was less promising. She has been working hard with E2 and K, but often moved short with K and we couldn't quite figure out why. I think her obesity has a lot to do with it, possibly leading to a little tenderness on her feet, but then again she would move beautifully for E2 on the same surfaces. Anyway, the week before HOY, Faith was better than ever under saddle.

Studvet Turbo, Wynnie's paternal grandsire, who is 26 now and still going strong

Show time clashes meant that I'd be showing her in the hand, so I practiced a little with K screaming at me to run faster (I've got little legs) and she was really super in hand. K had done a fantastic job before last HOY getting her to stand square and trot up easily.

Arwen's prep was pretty unremarkable. We've already settled into a fun routine of bathing, manic tail-scrubbing, and plaiting. She snoozes in the cross ties while I work; I listen to the Compelled podcast to keep my perspective, and it's almost as much fun as the actual show. While she was not amused about being locked in a small paddock for the night, she only galloped around for a couple of minutes before resigning herself to her fate of eating a huge net of hay.

Raya and Wynnie's daddy Dakota as a young stallion

We finished up on Friday afternoon with a bit of box training, just a refresher for those who hadn't been in the four-berth box before or hadn't been out for ages. Wynnie walked right in, obviously, but Faith was extremely dubious. We could get her in, but I physically couldn't shove her over enough to close the partition. Everyone started to get stressed out at that point, and it was getting late, so we took her back to the stable in the hopes that BarnRat would be able to help me close the partition.

At half past four the next morning, however, all four mares (including Erin's lovely mare and Arwen) loaded like a dream. We put the lunge line behind Faith and she was unsure, but it only took ten minutes to get her in, and hubby was able to push the partition closed. It appears I no longer need to wrap him quite so heavily in cotton wool.

With that, we were off to Horse of the Year Show 2024: my poor husband with a literal truckload of girls and mares. They traveled perfectly and unloaded calm and happy at the show, even - perhaps especially - Wynnie. She seemed to look around and say, "Oh, this place again," then immediately settled down to hand graze. In fact, I handed her to BarnRat so that I'd have both hands free to wrangle Arwen, who turned out not to need any wrangling. She was chill from the moment we got there.

We tucked the mares into their stables and immediately leaped into action. C and BarnRat helped Erin and K to turn out their Boerperd mares to the nines while I got Wynnie ready and helped with Faith. For the record, bay horses are the best thing ever. I sprayed some shine spray, brushed her tail, wiped her face and put her halter on while everyone else ran around painting Wompom on white legs and bemoaning grass stains. In a flurry of activity, everyone was ready, and we all set off for in-hand: K and Erin to the Boerperd arena, and Faith and Wynnie to the Bob Charter arena. Arwen came along so that she wouldn't be all alone in the stables.

Faith and I arrived at the arena gate with a little time to spare. The gigantic Bob Charter was divided in half, with the showing happening on the far end near the restaurant. Faith and I hung out on the other side for a while and I immediately knew that we were going to have a rough time of it. Faith couldn't see Wynnie and Arwen - although there were other horses in the arena with her - and it worried her hugely.

I walked her around a little and we discussed the fact that feelings are okay but running over your handler is not okay at all. She was still tense and pulling but no longer trying to squash me when the steward called us in and I showed the big girl for the first time in years.

photo by Denford Studios

She was understandably worried but actually the best I've ever seen her in hand. In motion, she was perfect. She wasn't into standing still, but did so long enough for the judge to look at her. Her trot was really cool despite my tiny legs and she pinned second in a medium-sized class, her best in-hand result yet.

After Faith's championship class, where she didn't place, we quickly trotted out and I handed her off to the girls in exchange for Wynnie. We went straight in with no time to get her settled, which turned out not to be a problem at all, because Wynnie was utterly chill. She called to Arwen once or twice, but never really looked around for her. Instead, she marched into the show arena like she owned it.

I had a pocketful of small treats and I unashamedly deployed them with frequency because my little two-year-old was foot perfect. She tossed her head a little and had an excited step or two in her trot, but didn't yank me around or jump up. She barely even fidgeted when she had to stand still in the lineup - which is a feat for a baby her age.

photo by Denford Studios

I was glowing with pride even before the judge placed her second in a class of five, which I was over the moon with. She's only two and her class was fillies four and younger, so there were much more mature girls in the class, and she stood up well against them. More importantly, she was pleasant to handle and enjoyed herself. She knows this game now and she likes it. I think she's going to be an absolute pleasure for her first ridden show.

We had a short break before the group class, which gave me time to get Arwen spot washed and polished for her baby riding classes with a little kiddo. (More on those later). I handed Wynnie to C while I was busy with Arwen and she quickly figured out that she could drag poor C all over the place. When I took her back, she tried to walk over me and got bopped in the shoulder with a showing cane. She took the correction with grace but she was starting to run out of patience - understandably for her age. Annoyingly, it took several reminders for her to stay out of my space, and this transferred into her class somewhat.

photo by Denford Studios

We headed in for her group class, where two horses from the same sire or dam are presented, and showed alongside her beautiful half-sister also by Dakota. Wynnie was getting a little irritable at this point and wiggled around in the lineup a little. I gave her the tip of the showing cane to chew and that settled her somewhat. She gave a jump when we trotted up, but never brought any feet near me, and trotted nicely by my side despite some annoyed head-shaking. I had to remind her to stay out of my space a few times, too. Nothing was horrible, she was just really over it by that point and that's okay.

Hubby was having an amazing time. He thinks Wynnie is the most beautiful horse he's ever seen, and we brought his bike along to the show, which was a stroke of genius on his part. He zoomed around happily fetching and carrying and none of the horses seemed to mind. Each time we won a ribbon, he hung it on his bike. It was delightful.

We got third in a fairly large class and then poor baby Wynnie could go for a rest. It was time to get Arwen and her kiddo into the arena, and this was the class that I was the most invested in for the whole show.

More on that later. God is so good.

the first of many