Wizard Ride 200: Horse Show 1

Sunday, 11/21/10

The day has come… our first horse show! The show was at my barn, so there was no shipping. The show was the most casual I’ve ever done- it was a fun, relaxed schooling show. In my youth, my trainers always made me wear the show coat even at the most informal shows (and on the hottest days!) but now that I’m doing my own thing, I dressed casually with breeches and a vest :^)

Warmup was great- I knew our classes would take a lot of mental and physical effort for Wizard so we kept it short and sweet. I did a lot of walking, getting him used to the weaving and circling of all the horses. We then trotted, working on stretching and making contact with the bit. I only did one spin at the canter in each direction and he (gasp!) picked up the correct lead each time.

I had a very nice support group at the show, including my mom (also photographer and groom), my friend Christie, and my dad later in the day.

So here’s a rundown of our classes and how we did…

Adult Rider- 18yrs or older. English or Western.
W/T Eq Placed 6th. Wizard bounced around quite a bit during his walk-to-trot transitions, but was great with the horse traffic.
W/T/C Eq Placed 6th. They asked for a canter from a walk (oh, hm, we’ve never done that before!). No time like the present, and Wizard bounced into a canter from the walk. Not the prettiest transition, but he had a fair amount of impulsion from the show energy and it was pretty decent.
W/T/C Pleasure Our best class (according to the judge). Placed 4th.

Beginner Horse – Open to horses and ponies in their first or second year of showing.
W/T Placed 5th. I was much more relaxed and Wizard mirrored me.
W/T/C (canter individually) Did not place. Wizard picked up the wrong lead and leapt around a little in the first few strides of the canter. But once he settled, his canter was nice. Problem was, the judge was only watching horses in one spot on the rail and we tended to be pretty awkward in that spot. Wizard was getting a little grouchy around the other horses. I think he was hitting his threshold for attention span. If the last class was not over fences, I would have called it a day. I was proud of his performance in the class but the class was large and in the grand scheme of things, it was probably not that pretty.
W/T Hack with two cross rails Placed 5th. Our best performance (according to me). The judge made a comment about a rider who cantered the cross rails so I made sure to really bring Wizard down to a serious trot between the fences. Wizard was thrilled to jump and I was thrilled with his performance.

In all, it was a wonderful first show. I did not fall off or get otherwise disqualified, and Wizard performed admirably. I’m quite proud of him- it was fun to show off the results of all our hard work.

Wizard Ride 199: Be Prepared

Saturday, 11/20/10

How to prepare for Wizard’s first-ever schooling show:

– tack up
– ride in the outdoor arena
– practice transitions
– practice halting
– don’t ride too long
– untack
– clip whiskers and chin
– bathe horse
– wrap horse up in a zillion coolers
– graze horse outside
– check to see if horse is dry
– give horse snacks in stall
– check to see if horse is dry
– visit barn buddies
– check to see if horse is dry
– when horse is dry, put on sheet and put horse to bed
– go home
– clean tack
– try to sleep!

Wizard Ride 174: Suzie Hehn Clinic

Thursday, 8/26/10

After such a long time with any riding lessons and just a camera to tell me how Wizard and I look, it was such a positive experience to have an experienced horsewoman evaluate and work with us. Suzie Hehn is a local judge, as well as a wonderful rider.

The focus of the clinic was on working toward a successful experience in the hunter ring, but dressage and other disciplines were discussed as well. There was a very nice balance of evaluation of the ability of horse and rider, exercises for improving horse and rider, and the overall impression that the horse and rider would give in the show ring.

My clinic session was a flat class, working at the walk, trot, and canter. She was pleased with our walk, especially since Wizard’s walk is purposeful and balanced. At the trot, she first evaluated my position, and then worked on how to get a more balanced ride out of Wizard. One of the most important pieces of information I gleaned from the clinic was that my hands are a little shaky. She saw some movement in them at the trot at times and thought it might be contributing to Wizard’s busy mouth- he tends to over-work the bit sometimes. I could never really see it in photos, but it made a lot of sense. Once I really concentrated on “posting into my hands” and keeping them truly still and soft, Wizard responded. Sometimes little details like that are impossible to feel from the saddle without a pair of eyes on the ground.

Bitting was also discussed, and I’m planning to keep trying bits to see what Wizard likes best. Suzie also agreed that trying different adjustments on the cheekpieces of the bridle was a good idea- some horses like the bit to float lightly in the mouth and some prefer more stability.

Our session consisted of four horse/rider pairs, including us. It was a hugely helpful training experience to ride in a group and it made me much more confident for future show experiences. Wizard was absolutely perfect at the walk and trot, and got a little keyed up at the canter but settled really nicely in the group. For most of the clinic, canter work was done in pairs or individually, but all four of us did canter at one point and Wizard exceeded my expectations.

At the trot, it was suggested to take a little more contact of the bit. It seemed counterintuitive to the work I’ve been doing with “floating” the reins and trying to get Wizard moving forwardly, but the contact seemed to relax him into a nice rhythm and it balanced him nicely. It’s the same advice I received from a friend out west who rides dressage- now that two respected and experienced horsewomen have suggested it, I need to really take the advice seriously :^) Our speed was also appraised- Suzie felt that I might be able to get a little more impulsion going and a more blanced trot by slowing our speed down just a tic. My work on forward and soft is creating great results, but it’s time to take more contact and expect a little more from the horse.

At the trot, Suzie introduced lateral work, first as a leg yield, then as a shoulder-in. To the right, Wizard’s work was quite nice. I grinned from ear to ear when Suzie remarked that it was obvious that we do a lot of work on these movements. We did a leg yield off the wall to the quarter line, and then back to the wall in each direction. We worked on shoulder-in down the long side of the arena. I was reminded that it’s okay to exaggerate my inside and outside legs during this work, and it was quite effective when I slid my leg back a little more than usual in each direction- I could feel Wizard really bending around me.

Circling was discussed, and Suzie encouraged me to invite Wizard into more circles at the canter as we gain balance and a more steady tempo. I could feel him getting strong when we left the circles, but a half halt brought him back to me reasonably well. Below is a video of a little bit of canter work, and you can see him resisting my half halt a little and then responding- I was a little too messy with my hands.

This was the first time I’ve seen myself on video riding Wizard; this, too, was extremely helpful… and humbling. Sometimes I feel much more balanced than I really am. From seeing this video, I realize I have a long way to go- I also realize that I need to exercise more and lay off the carbs!

As an aside, YouTube has a funny feature that allowed me to do an audio swap and add music. I chose Magnapop, a band I fondly remember from high school/college. Another artist available for these audio swaps is Mike Ferraro, who is releasing a full-length album soon with a band which includes my husband :^)

The clinic was a fantastic experience, both for schooling Wizard and for receiving excellent comments and suggestions. Onward and upward!

Wizard Ride 172: I Can’t Wait

Friday, 8/20/10

I rode Wizard in the indoor arena in the evening. Although it was a late night, we were not the last ones out of the barn. A boarder was showing in the Monmouth County “AA” Horse Show the next day and her horse was getting his mane braided. Although Wizard and I won’t be spending any time at a show of that caliber, it made me think of our upcoming clinic and any potential horse shows on the horizon…

It’s a huge thrill to be considering such fun projects, but it also gave me the jitters. Have I created any gaps in Wizard’s training? Is he really ready for all these plans? Is he still considered “green”? I rode through some of our usual exercises as a barometer of our training, doing forward work, transitions within gaits, and some lateral work at the walk, trot, and canter. Wizard felt much better than he did two rides ago, and any of his anxious behavior was gone. Hopefully that night was a fluke- perhaps he had a bellyache or he hated the different tack or something.

The hardest thing we’re doing these days is shoulder-in. I’m a much stronger rider to the right and my leg and seat and hand cues are better timed and more effective; therefore, shoulder-in and leg yields to the right are better than the left. This actually works out well, though, since most horses (and riders, from what I can tell) prefer to travel to the left. Perhaps my left-handedness plays a part in this. Whatever it is, it creates a decent lateral repertoire to one side and not to the other. I really concentrated on our work to the left, trying to straighten my seat and shoulders. Another issue I battle is riding with a caved hip and crooked shoulders. I aligned myself several times during the ride.

The canter work was quite nice, with Wizard picking up his leads with reasonable ease. We trotted some ground poles, did some closing stretching exercises, and cooled out. I’m a little jittery when I think about our future plans, but when I’m in the saddle, I can’t wait.

Selena Ride 29; Wizard Ride 99: Congratulations are in order…

Congratulations to Mary the Morgan and her owner for a VERY successful first show ever! They were a great team and they handled their English pleasure, showmanship, and model classes beautifully. It was a great schooling experience, as well as a great show for them- the ribbons are proudly displayed on Mary’s stall door :^)

Monday, 9/21/09

Another lovely late summer/early fall day at the barn. I just barely got out of work in time to hit the trails with Wizard and Mary the Morgan. We were out for about 2 miles. I rode one and walked the last mile. Wizard was fantastic again. I’m a huge advocate of keeping rides on a good note and it has worked beautifully so far. It was getting dark on the way out so the horses were more focused and a little slower than they are in daylight. It was a bit of a trust-building exercise on the way back, since I could just barely see the winding trail. I had to let Wizard pick his way back and he did like a seasoned pro.

I rode Selena outdoors under the lights. We did our usual long rein walking warmup, followed by some stretching at the trot. Then we focused on bending and rode patterns around the jumps that were set up in the arena. Selena was so relaxed that I was using a little more leg than usual, and was able to get her to bend around my leg a bit. The ride was about 35 minutes total. She is getting her fall shots on Wednesday so she will most likely get a night of grazing and grooming.