The meaning of success
by Robyn
It’s been a big week or so for Bravo. In the last 10 days we did a recognized USDF show, then a dental “power float” on Monday, and today (Sunday) we were back in the sandbox–this time at a schooling show at Susie Wiedman’s Encore Sporthorse in Sanford to benefit the Misty Creek Ranch tornado disaster.
Bravo is not a big spook-er, and for this I am grateful. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t get affected by the stuff around him–in fact he gets quite anxious and internalizes it. When I was working with local natural horsemanship guru Linda Hoover, she described Bravo as “wearing it”. The problem with this is that you can only “wear” your anxiety for so long before it gets to you, and in B’s case this usually involves wheeling and bucking back to safety. With this in mind, at the USDF shows I always take gobs of time letting him settle in (with varying success–unfortunately sometimes it’s all good until I start applying the pressure of a warm up before he decides leaving Dodge is his best option). At schooling shows, you don’t get as much time, but the experience is no less useful. We arrived today about an hour and a half before my test, which proved to be plenty! I have discovered that part of the key is letting him look about, on the buckle, for a good 10-15 minutes. It’s no pressure on my part, he can put his head up like a giraffe and gaze at everything (usually he is mesmerized by other horses in the distance, as though he’s never seen one of these fantastic 4-legged creatures before in his life!) with no agenda from me other than we keep moving.
After he had his share of being a looky-loo, we had an easy, confrontation free warm up–first in the warm up ring, then in the grass right next to the covered (competition) ring. He was not as supple as his usual, but in it’s place he was super rideable (ah, to get all the pieces at one time–it’s so elusive!). Unfortunately, the footing in the indoor is nearly polar opposite to the home turf, and while it was soft and inviting, we felt a bit like we were swimming compared to the firmness we’re used to for our daily rides (amazing how much difference various footings make–particularly when you are “used to” a particular type). Regardless, there were some highlights in our Second level Test 3 ride: the walk pirouettes were BOTH active and correct, the free walk included the heretofore missing stretching out and down with the neck, and every piece of the test was performed precisely where and when I asked.
We finished with a respectable 65.9+%, winning our class and the series championship! (OK, full disclosure–we were the only Second level test of the day AND of the whole series of 3 shows, so all I had to do was stay in the ring to triumph. 
)
But fancy ribbons and Encore Sporthorse swag-winnings aside, the real accomplishment was just being there–more time in the tack, more positive experiences in the “bank”, and another test at a new location under the belt with no histrionics. The bonus is getting to see all the friendly faces–mostly “old” and a few new–enjoying themselves and their horses as well!
