Climbing out of the “Pit of Despair”
by Robyn
“the pit of despair”: idiom/USDF R judge Jan Jacobson (2007); referring to Second Level
My last USDF show didn’t go exactly according to plan. I’ve been working really hard this winter–training, schooling shows, etc.–but I was a little nervous that I could have another tragic weekend of competition. Not only did I still feel demoralized by how poorly I had ridden in Williamston last November, but my last attempts at Second Level (with James and Graham) led to the coinage of the above phrase by Jan Jacobson, which I still use to this day.
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I am happy to report that the demons in my head did not defeat me, and the show was a HUGE success for Team Aloi.
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Anne and Doc Holliday had great scores for super rides in the Developing Horse test Friday and Saturday, and the Chyro-saurus was brilliant.
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Keni got her remaining Silver Medal score at PSG on Friday (with a spare on Sunday) with Princess Snarky Pants.
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Bravo was 3 totally different horses on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday which is always a challenge for executing an effective warm-up. I can say in all seriousness that without Anne, I’m not sure my end result would have been the same (Thanks Anne!). Thursday started out with the drama of a lost shoe. Of course, I did not DISCOVER said missing shoe until I was tacking up in Pinehurst (and I always look at B’s feet when I bring him in from the field, so apparently I am partially blind). The farrier on call was unavailable until Friday morning, so luckily I had an Easy boot in the trailer and we soldiered on, largely unfettered. I lunged for a bit, then rode in the warm up ring near the barn without incident. Once I moved to the other side of the field to the competition rings, however, the story changed and there were a few tantrums. The bad news is the tantrums still exist, but the good news is they are so much reduced in intensity. We finished up and I felt really optimistic.
Armed with a newly placed shoe, I had 2 tests on Friday and Bravo was hot as mustard. Bravo is not normally a lazy horse, but I would not characterize him as “spicy” in general. Having a horse that would like to wheel and gallop back to the barn AND is twitching like a cat had me honestly a bit unnerved. Anne schooled me before the first test and had a few profound observations. My favorite new saying of her’s is: “If he’s going to run back to the barn with you, he should at least do it in a 3-beat canter instead of this fractured 5-beat thing you’re doing now.” Point taken! (Although in my defense it does take some digging deep to give the hand 2 inches and kick on when my horse is threatening to leave the county with or without me.) She offered that Bravo has plenty of “up” and so we needed to focus on the “out” to lengthen the neck along with several other “pearls” to digest. The second warm up was even more challenging because we had been caught in the rain, forced to retire to the barn for a 1.5 hour rain delay, and then return with a less-than-ideal amount of time to get ready for the second test. Anne came out and asked how it was going. My answer was “Shit.”, followed by “I’m gonna scratch.” as we skittered sideways squealing and hopping. Anne would have none of that, and put us back to work exactly as in the morning. I’m pleased to report that I won both tests, with 64+% and 68+%. Bravo was hot in the tests too, but on the aids, and in particular the second test (Second Level test 3) felt pretty effortless.
Saturday was a different story. I did a quick lunge to let out the morning bucks, and could tell immediately upon mounting that I was in big trouble. I felt like I was riding a teenaged plow horse with legs made of lead. Seriously–from hot head to dead head in less than 24 hours? Ugh. He was perfectly behaved in the warm up, but ultimately was a fraction behind the leg for most of my test. OF COURSE this was the sweepstakes class for money, although our effort landed us in second place (with a payout coincidentally about equal to my retail therapy/new breeches!).
Today I had the best of both worlds–I skipped the lunging, and Bravo was just a teensy bit on edge out in the field. Anne headed back to Virginia first thing, so I replayed the tape of my previous 3 warm ups to the best of my ability. Bravo was right on the aids–quick to the leg, but super-responsive to the half halt. This Second Level test 3 had a few minor pilot errors, so didn’t have quite the flow of the one on Friday, but still garnered a 67+% for the AA Dover Medal to finish our weekend. Apropos, the judge was Jan Jacobson!
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There is also just a tiny amount of fun to be had when the ponies are all tucked away for the night, and with our successes all weekend, we had a lot to celebrate. Couple that with stabling with Team Marley (Hey, gurl!) and you have the ingredients for some serious partying! Three nights, five gallons of margaritas, eight bottles of champagne, and two full moons later, a good time was had by all.
