millbrook horse trials

Well, I just spent a lovely weekend at the millbrook horse trials as a groom for Nancy. All together, we had seven horses... 3 of which were being ridden by Nancy. Friday started at 7 AM, with Luna - Nancy's first horse - going at 9. Everyone but Miles (who was going at 4) was pretty much braided (except for forelocks), so all I really had to do was get everyone looking pretty. Luna was off with Nancy at 8:30 and I went to work on Bunny, who had dressage at 10. In between making the two mares pretty and cooling them out, I started braiding Miles. I caught a look at Bunny in the dressage warm-up when I ran over with fly spray and a towel, and she looked WONDERFUL. Nancy came back to report a personal best.. exciting!
I was then presented with the NIGHTMARE of taking out Bunny's braids. Jen had put them in and wished me luck, since she had sewn the CRAP out of them. I think that the one thing worse than braiding is definately taking braids OUT. I HATE IT. With the ladies done, we had a LONG gap before Miles went, which we filled with feeding lunch, eating lunch and just generally enjoying the event. I found Nikki at one point and she caught me up to speed on the goings-on at Stephie's. I also got to see Jessie and Elizabeth... it was a stephie's reunion!
We then got Miles and the two Preliminary horses ready for 3:30, and after they had all gone out to the ring, I picked stalls and did hay and water. Once everyone was back and cooled out, we fed dinner and went to walk the Prelim course... WOW. Millbrook really is a beautiful place... the jumps are spectacular, the scenery is gorgeous and the courses are TOUGH. Walking the prelim course, I saw a lot of the Intermediate and Advanced questions, which were enormous and technical... there would be some GOOD riding happening on Saturday! Jen and Beth - the two Prelim riders - seemed a little nervous, but also excited about the course, so things were looking good. I saw some of the lower level fences, too, and the course has definately changed a bit since I last competed there! I can't wait until I can actually have a horse competing there.
Once the course was walked, everything was done and I headed back home for a nice night in my own bed.
Once again on Saturday I was up at 5 to be up to the stables by 7 (I actually got there at 6:30, because I'm obsessive about being early). Luna and Bunny were going bright and early, with only about 45 minutes between them, so the morning was going to be a little crazy. Luna went off as the first XC ride of the day at 8 AM, and as I walked Bunny around and got her clean, I listened intently to the announcer to hear how Luna was going... all sounded good. Unfortunately, all was NOT good. Luna ended up with four stops (and, consequently, an elimination). So with her back and in trouble, I tacked up Bunny and sent Nancy off for her second ride. While Bunny went out, I cooled Luna down and took Miles for a walk, since he was headed to XC next. Bunny was a very good girl and got around with NO jump faults (she DID have speeding tickets, though!), so that got the morning going a bit better.
As the last horse of Nancy's to go, I got her off to the warm-up and then ran up to watch Miles go. It was his first training, and I guess he's not always a very good boy. The fourth fence on course was a two stride (I think?) that you came down to from a long stretch that ran parallel to the stabling... so a lot of horses were getting nappy and running left - towards stabling - at it. Miles proved no exception... even with a bit bur, a thin twist snaffle and Nancy clearly putting ALL her energy into keeping him on track. The rest of the course just got worse, and they ended up eliminated. When nancy came off course, she was not pleased (go figure) and told Miles' owner that he needed a new career. She's been working with him for a year and a half, and he isn't getting better... he clearly doesn't want to be an event horse. She felt he would be better suited for someone as a hunt horse, since he's good out in a group.
With Nancy's three done, I got to go watch some of the Intermediate and Advanced XC, which was FUN FUN FUN. I unfortunately had to leave a little early for a wedding, so I pulled out around 3. It wasn't a great day, but at least Bunny was good!!
I rolled up for one last day at 6:30 on Sunday. Nancy only had Bunny running Stadium, so it was a very easy day. Bunny was, once again, BRILLIANT, and jumped around clean. Miles went off on trial to a Hunt home. I stripped Miles' stall once he left and then went up to catch Beth and Jen's stadium rounds. Jen had a couple rails and was disappointed even though she rode well, but still ended up with a ribbon. Beth also rode well and jumped around clear, moving up to 2nd place!
Once they were done, me and one of the other ladies took about a wheelbarrow out of everyone's stalls so that it would be easy to just roll out later, and then we all trekked back up to stadium to watch the upper levels go.
All in all, it was a great weekend, and I even got a call on Friday from a retired Roper looking to try Tango! He's coming to see him on Saturday and I've got my fingers crossed that he'll love him!

BAD NEWS BEARS

Well, Tango and I took a trip to Belmont on Tuesday to pay a visit to the Ruffian Equine Medical Clinic and finally get to the bottom of this lameness thing. As it turns out, he isn't actually LAME... just limited. He apparently had an old injury to the check ligament that was either really terrible or just never given the care to heal properly, because the ligament is now very thick because of scar tissue and the scar tissue has actually ADHERED to his suspensory. DAMNIT! I've now found myself with a horse that can't jump anymore, since jumping is going to pull on that scar tissue and make him sore.
Looking at that ultrasound with Nancy and the vet and coming to the slow realization that I can't fix him absolutely broke my heart. I would have given anything to be able to fix this horse... I would have taken any amount of time and given him any level of care if someone told me it would make him OK, but instead I'm left helpless with the knowledge that I need to find him a more suitable home... a home where someone can pet him and adore him and take him out on the trails... maybe do some flat work, too. I guess the only thing that's good to know is that he isn't in pain... this thing up front is just happening because he's lost so much elasticity in the ligaments.
I've had to sell horses before... Dusty needed a less challenging home when she went blind in one eye and Kess decided he didn't want to be a preliminary horse... Both of those were hard for me, but I at least felt like I'd gotten the chance to TRY with them... I spent 4 years with Dusty and we got a chance to to all sorts of marvelous things together.. we both finished our first Training level together... hell, we finished our first recognised NOVICE together. That mare taught me all sorts of things about riding softly and efficiently. She gave me confidence. Most of all, she gave me brilliant memories and I couldn't ask any more of her... she gave me all she had and it was time for her to do that for someone else. It also didn't hurt that Jen bought her, so I was going to be able to keep seeing her.
couple photos from our time together:

Dusty and I as Black Riders for Halloween one year with my friend Helen and her horse Benji

Millbrook

Ethel Walker stadium... on our way to 2nd place

Kess was a totally different story. We had a great, short run. I got him as a Novice packer who wanted to do more, and more we did. Our biggest highlight was finishing 2nd in the TR division at Stuart, and I was SO excited about him. However, with him going lame at Fitch's Corner, and me going lame as soon as he was rideable again... we had some issues. I loved him dearly, and had a blast with him, but I guess I never quite felt the same sort of connection with him that I did with Dusty.. probably because I wasn't the one who trained him. He is now happily trucking around Novice with a little girl and I'll get to see him run when I go up to Millbrook next weekend! Anyway.. here are some fun photos from our time together:

Stuart XC

Meeting santa at LEC!

Stuart SJ

Kess and Gunner - his love at Lake Erie


I was able to handle selling those two because I felt that we'd at least gotten a chance to perform together and have some fun. Maybe that's why I'm finding this so hard with Tango... I feel as if the two of us haven't ever gotten a chance to do anything. I absolutely LOVE this horse... Dusty was sort of green when I got her, but Tango was VERY green... everything we've accomplished has been because of our teamwork. And let's not even mention that he is the sweetest, most talented horse I've ever met... I had such high hopes for him, and it really feels like my heart is breaking when I think that I'll never get to experience his BEAUTIFUL jump again, and that he'll never get to enjoy it again... because he LOVES to jump. This isn't as hard as saying goodbye forever... not by any means... Sierra gets the medal for the hardest goodbye... but it's just the fact that he's SO talented and SO lovely and he'll never get the chance to really prove it. I can't even type anything more because it's just making me upset. The blog isn't finished... I'll keep updating on Tango until he finds a new home, and then I'll start up anew once I find a new project... but I'm done for now.

return of the mystery lameness

well, Tango's weird lameness is officially BACK. I've been wondering about it for a little while now... not always sure he looked great, but not always sure he DIDN'T look great. It's probably at less than a 1 right now and only visible when he drops behind the leg at the trot, but it's there. I took him to Nancy's to have her take a look at him too, since I wasn't entirely sure if I was just being paranoid, and she definately saw it.
The whole thing is incredibly frustrating, so she called up the new Ruffian clinic at Belmont, where she knows a few of the vets, and told them what was going on. They agreed to see us this coming Tuesday, and Nancy's going to come along since she a)wants to see her friends b)wants to know what's wrong with this horse and c)doesn't think I should be hauling through NYC by myself (AGREED!).
I'm nervous that they'll find something irreparable, but at least then I'll KNOW and can find him a situation that will work for him. It's not fair to either of us to keep beating our heads against a wall with all these different diagnoseses.

Riga Meadow

I went to Riga Meadow yesterday to have a nice day of watching ponies. Taylor was going up there with her trainer to help out, so I met up with her. First of all, it is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL venue... the views are breathtaking.

By the time I got there, novice stadium was just beginning. I found taylor and told her that I wanted to keep an eye out for Delaney - the pony I used to ride at Stephie's. Oddly enough, I then turned around to see a little dark bay pony grazing with a fly mask on... closer inspection revealed that his halter did in fact say "Delaney"! I chatted with his rider's mom a little bit and she told me that he's been doing great, which is always nice to hear! I guess he lived in MD last year with his owner while she was at college, so that's cool! Here's a picture of him that I found here

I hung out and watched stadium for awhile before wandering off to XC, as Taylor's friend was about to head out on course. As you can see from the photo above, the XC course was pretty lovely... you could see just about everything if you stood in the right spot. Tay's friend went well, but the horse hurt itself and had to be taken to the on-site vet. It wasn't serious, thankfully. While they did that I wandered further into the XC fields and watched a bunch of people go. The course looked like it was riding very well, and everyone seemed to be having a pretty nice time. Right before I went back towards the dressage/show jumping, I saw a little pony going that I was PRETTY sure was Delaney, so I decided to wait and watch him go. Well, he wasn't a very good pony yesterday... he stopped at the jump after the drop, dumped his poor rider and took off back to the start. Silly pony!
After that, I was planning on heading out, but Taylor sent me a text saying that Bandit was in the dressage ring. Bandit was our friend Addie's old horse and is now being ridden by a young girl. He had a terrible dressage test and then got eliminated in show jumping... probably for the best. Having seen him, I headed out... horribly sunburned but glad to have spent a day at an event.

Jon Holling - Saturday and Sunday

Thankfully, Saturday didn't have to be an incredibly early day, since Tango and I didn't ride until 1:30. I got up to the barn at 8 and gave him a much needed bath, packed the trailer and left by 10. It actually wasn't a terrible drive up, we didn't hit any traffic... even at the tolls. I rolled into Greenwood farm at about 12:30, put Tango into his stall, gave him water, got changed and started tacking up. Our warm-up went well for the first few minutes, but by the time all five of us were in the ring, he was starting to get bottled up and nervous. Jon started the clinic with us working through a grid. It was ultimately a grid with 5 one-strides, but he built it up slowly. We began with three trot poles, which Tango refused to trot over. It then turned into pole, x-rail, pole... which he bombed through. By the time we hit two jumps, Jon was actually walking in front of us as we came into the line to try to get him to back off and slow down! It sort of worked, but he still wasn't being very good. Once the fourth jump went up, I was SURE he would back off a little bit, but I was sorely mistaken. Oh well. After we had gone through the full line a few times we moved on to a little line. Jon told us that it was made to be five strides, but he didn't care if it was five or six, as long as we knew what we got. At first, they were just simple poles on the ground and the goal was to quietly get our strides. Once again, Tango had other plans and insisted on trying to charge the poles and bolt down the line... we ultimately got a semi-controlled 5 strides down it before jon put the jumps in.
While the two lovely, quiet horses got to canter into the line, Tango and two other horses were made to trot in. I think that we managed at least one decent trip through, but he was terribly unrideable for the most part. It was at least nice to hear Jon tell me I rode it well, despite Tango trying to run away with me before during and after the line. With the line (basically) conquered, we moved on to corner fences! This was a big deal for my little guy, who's never seen anything like it. They were very small... probably about 2 feet... but they were still corners. We started with just one, which Tango jumped pretty well, and then added another. The first time we jumped through was going away from the barn, so I actually had a pretty decent ride. He jumped into the line HUGE, barely made the three strides and then launched out over the second... I ended up slipping my reins and almost riding the second like a drop, since I wasn't entirely sure we would make it over at first. To my delight, Jon told me that I had ridden it really well, especially considering how aggressive Tango had been (aggressive, NOT wild or stupid, yay!). We tried it again and had a lovely line.
The last part of the day was a course. We did the grid, made a hard left, came around to the 5 stride line, rolled back to the verticle in the line and then came over the corner line, this time towards home. Our first time down the corner line didn't go very well. He charged in and I didn't quite have him in control, let him drift right and ended up with a run-out at the second. The next time through was the same problem. Jon then had us take the second one by itself and then come around to try the whole thing. That time, we had a very nice ride through. A good way to end the day!
Tango got a nice wash-down and grazing time while we watched the last group go. After the last group was finished, I gave him his dinner and set off to find my hotel and get some dinner of my own. Around 7:30 I headed back out to the barn to check on Tango one last time. I wrapped his front legs (the left front, where he stuck it through the fence, always seems a little puffy now), brushed him and left him alone for the night.
The next morning I got to the barn around 6:15. No one was around yet, so I decided to wait on feeding Tango until the rest of his barn got fed. He wound up with breakfast at about 6:45... I unwrapped him and was pleased to see that his legs looked great. All that finished, I helped Jeanie - who had set the clinic up - remove all the jumps from the ring so that she could drag it and then headed to the truck to eat my Dunkin Donuts breakfast. As I was sitting there, a trailer began pulling up the driveway. I thought the truck looked familiar, and it turned out to be Stephie! Very exciting! She was riding Merk in the first group of the day, so I helped her tack up and then settled in to watch her. Merk looks GREAT. She was jumping REALLY well.
I watched the next couple of groups, too, and at about 11 I took Tango out for a walk/some grass. We were riding at noon, so he had a good half hour of wandering around and eating before I started tacking him up. Our group was only three riders, so it was really nice. He actually warmed up pretty well... much quieter than he had been the day before... but that didn't last long. Jon started the day with cantering poles. There was a four stride line and a three stride line. Again, he didn't care if we got more (or even if we got less, since we were on green horses), he just wanted us to know what we got and keep a good rhythm. Well, the minute I asked for canter, Tango started flying sideways and trying to bolt. When I finally got him at least pointed towards the first line of poles, he got totally inverted and took off down the line. NOT a good way to start the day. We then made our way to the next line with similar results. I think it took us five or six tries before he was even marginally rideable. At one point, he sort of tripped over or kicked one of the poles and then very nearly bucked me off because he was pissed off about stepping on the pole. Jon's response to that was "Don't worry about it, that's his own problem for running the pole over." Next was a pole on the diagonal to another pole, five strides to an oxer. Tango got over the pole and then tried to make a bid for the oxer... I took a tug and made him add another stride, to which he responded by taking off bucking after the oxer. Jon laughingly remarked that "He's got an opinion about everything!" Yup... that's my boy. He told me that when he gets all worked up about these things I should just try to ignore it, but also be strict with him by letting him know that what he's doing is wrong... basically it just comes down to NOT getting frustrated with him. He also said that I had done well not to get upset with him, because it would have been easy to do over the weekend.
I'm not sure what exactly changed after that, but suddenly Tango's brain switched back on and the rest of the lesson went REALLY well. I really started to feel like I could put my leg on and ride him more forward. The course had a lot of tight turns, a triple and a bounce... I was really really thrilled about his performance. He was back in hand pretty quickly after the fences, and able to make the turns without circling. One thing I do have to be careful of is not getting him "stuck" in his canter when we go around the turns (especially the tight ones). The turn to the bounce was really tight, and our first time through he got way too up and down and totally lost the engine, but the second time I rode him more forward and we got a much nicer canter into the bounce.
All in all it was a great weekend for both of us. I was really pleased with Tango's performance on Sunday, and even more pleased to see that he was still really fresh when I got him home.. he took off galloping around his paddock as soon as I let him out!
We were supposed to be having a lesson with Nancy today, but I guess she forgot that she was going away, so that didn't happen. We'll get there eventually!
I really wish I had photos from this weekend, but sadly, I brought my camera and forgot my camera charger, so the camera was dead. Oh well!
We learned a lot and had a blast... Jon is an excellent teacher and I can't wait until he comes around again!

Jon Holling

We survived! I'll post more later, because I'm currently about to be late for work, but the little boy and I got through the clinic unscathed. He was absolutely wild and sort of frustrating, but Jon helped us through it and I had him going pretty well by the end of the second day. He got lots of pats and I look forward to riding with Jon again.
more later!

Clinic Preps... continued

Two more days until Jon Holling! I'm praying that the weather hold out so that we can XC school... it's looking good so far, but New England is pretty unreliable in that department. It's hard to believe it's already July... before I know it I'll be back in school. I just filled out my entry form for Kent... now I just need to write out the check, get it in the mail and hope they arent full. fingers crossed!
we've got a flat lesson tonight with Jen, which I felt was much-needed after last night's ride. We pretty much spent an entire hour arguing. Sometimes I forget about the fact that he's still only six and green.
I've put together my "Clinic Checklist" and have already begun getting my stuff together.. but I seem to have lost my flat back buckets... I have no idea where they may have gone, but it's really frustrating.
plan for the next couple of days:
today: flat lesson
tomorrow: easy hack
saturday: leave at 10AM for clinic - show jumping with Jon!
sunday: XC school with Jon or more show jumping if the weather is crappy.

yikes! well, I'm off to go to work and fret about the upcoming weekend.