Fall Fair

Our little club put on a concentrated effort to really show up to the local Fall Fair this year, as past attendance has been a little lackluster and it's been a bit of a wasted opportunity to be seen in the community given the equestrian club grounds are on the same site as the fair grounds. This year turned out fantastic, I feel like we probably had record numbers of riders and fair attendance.

Of course I didn't take any pics of the actual event...it was seriously hectic trying to get there on time and bring all the things to keep Bridget and I happy for an afternoon away from home. You'd never know it given this pre ride shot of B :) Never fear, there are supposedly photos coming!

In the theme of me feeling overwhelmed by my schedule yet still wanting to do all the things, I just signed up for the second day of the fair, which happened to be the gymkhana portion.

I broke out the tiara for B. The little kids especially loved that she was wearing 'diamonds'.

And another new Amazon sale $20 saddle pad. We went for the black and silver sparkly vampire look ;)

I hate this, but I was that person - the one that hadn't ridden for two weeks then pulled my horse out of the field. I had a weekend in Vancouver, then a death plague some extra work, all while keeping a definite focus on meeting some training goals with Sophie. The next thing you know riding had been off the schedule for quite a number of days! Luckily for me Bridget was pretty generous about it, but I need to do better if I want to continue signing her up for things. It's unfair for us both to be heading out to things with marginal fitness.

It's OK Bridget, I brought us both water and granola bars. We can do this.

With that in mind, I thought we'd just make an appearance, support the club, and sign out whenever Bridget said she was done.

Thankfully, it looks like pasture fitness is a thing, and while not exactly brimming with energy, Bridget was game to keep playing most of the afternoon. I made sure she got plenty of hand grazing breaks and skipped out for an hour mid afternoon.

Because she's starving, obviously.

How did we do, you ask? Bridget won some things! She was first in the keyhole, second in poles and the scurry, we won the ride a buck event, and I'm not sure about the rest. At the end of the day we were called as tied for high point! Very surprising for my not so fast pony. I think she edges in to placing because she's small and very maneuverable but has a huge stride, because trust me she's not very fast!

We won some brushes and a set of shipping boots, which was really great...the items I was gifted were all things I either needed or need to replace. Thank you sponsors, and thank you Bridget!

In other good news, I may have found someone to come hang out with me and ride Bridget while I work with Sophie. In a perfect world I'd have time for exercising both and G would have time to come hang out so I'm not backing a baby alone at the arena, but that's not been the case this summer despite everyone's best efforts. So, this feels like a win-win, given she doesn't have a horse,  Bridget could use some exercise, and I could use a spotter!

I'm slightly regretful I didn't get Sophie down to the fair this year - it would have been really great exposure! That said, I think I would have needed to have been able to keep a closer eye on her or have someone watch her - the way it's set up is open corral type stalls and everyone and their dogs and kids can access them and that made me a little nervous given I would expect her to be a bit 'up' and looking around and maybe not being overly respectful of space. I saw a few parents letting their kids climb on and through the fence rails, which honestly is why I only brought Bridget for a half a day. She is super with kids and random weird things, but I don't think the whole nearly a petting zoo thing is really her cup of tea, either.

Another random sunset picture for you. The ferry to get me home from work leaves later now so I've been getting take out and eating dinner at any park or beach I haven't visited before while  I wait to go home. 

Onward we go. This year has been really tough so I am extra grateful for Midge being so easy and game for whatever I throw at her. She used to be fairly difficult and resentful of working, so I'd like to think she's so easy now because she's happy and having fun being a backyard pony of all trades.

5 Steps to Remember Jump Courses and Dressage Tests

News flash: I'm way out of practice at remembering courses.

Me, watching a couple of riders go the other weekend, while I was supposed to be gathering intel for our riders hacking over for stadium:

-"That's a nice saddle pad. Wonder where she got it?"

-"Riders are consistently getting in too close to the red jump."

-"The grey horse is gorgeous!"

-"OOHH PONY!"

-"Love her coat. Does it come in adult sizing?"

-"Are those thunderstorms coming?"

-"I'd like to build a jump like that at home..."*mentally calculating supplies required*

-"Ohh look, there's where the courses are posted" *gets distracted talking to show photographer*

Yeah, not such a great success rate on learning the course if left to my own devices.

This should have been a great picture, but I had the photographer crop my face out because I was SO STRESSED looking...and it was all because I thought I might forget the course :D

So, if you're like me and are directionally challenged and have the attention span of a gnat, here's some tricks I use that work for me:

1. Get the picture ahead of time. I'm not the type of person that can look at the course diagram posted on the fence and remember it. If I take a picture with my phone and walk away somewhere quiet to study it, it's much easier. Dressage tests are my jam because I know what they'll be weeks in advance. On the day, I often find it helpful to get a visual by watching people go before me. I always walk my jump or xc courses, and have been known to walk my dressage tests in my living room too.

2. Know my start inside and out. On a stadium or XC course: where it is, where I approach from, what kind of canter I'd like to have. In dressage, this equates to knowing what bend I'd like to enter on and what happens after x. I find I'm most nervous and apt to forget things as I'm riding in, so if I can visualize and nail down a great start, my brain freeze melts and the rest usually flows more easily.

After that:

3. I mentally group lines of jumps or dressage movements. I try not to focus on looking for individual jumps one at a time and will often group dressage tests by changes in gait. So, the trot work at the start is one part, the walk another, canter another, change rein trot work another, etc. In jumping, it's 'outside line' or 'down the hill' or ' the yellow farm themed ones' etc. Keep your groups of things to 4 or less - most people can remember a sequence of 4 things fairly easily.

4. Remembering turns or changes in the pattern, by giving myself a visual place marker of where I want to turn and what towards. In dressage this is easy, there are markers for that purpose. In jumping, I help myself out by picking something permanent, like a tree or the stables as a visual reminder of what direction to go. ie, I might plan 'after the blue line of jumps if I turn towards the maple tree, that will line me up perfectly for the next group of jumps'. My lizard brain then only needs to know to go to the maple tree after the last blue jump, and the next part of course will appear before me  :)

5. Noting where the finish line is. Probably not a problem for most of you, but I've been caught out before on jump and XC courses, giving myself unneeded worry by mentally checking out after the last jump and then having to look for the timer. Remember to ride that course all the way to the finish line, everyone!

Bonus: Practice at home. Remembering patterns can be a learned skill...ask me how I know. My coach purposely used to set twisty complicated courses at home and then mess with me by telling me the course once and having me immediately go do it.

Blog Hop: My Favorite Event

Thanks to 3DayAdventures for the great blog hop!

Participating in this feels a bit cheat-y since I evented B for about 2 and a half years at the lowest level, and all at venues within our province. I'm not sure I'm a 'real' eventer and certainly don't have a super long list of places to compare to! Still, I feel like the awesome venues and organizers here deserve a shout out, even if it's just from lowly old me!

I went to Rebecca Farm a couple of summers ago to cheer on my barnmates, and I loved it. It was a bucket list thing forever for me to compete there, and if I was more local I'd be making sure it happened. But when we finally drove out there the reality set in. While the venue is of course stunning and everyone loves it, the logistics for us to travel and show there are pretty challenging. It's a long way and a lot of $ for us coastal Canadians to get there!

So, my all time favorite event remains the Campbell Valley Horse Trials! This one is unique because it's actually held at a regional park located in Greater Vancouver. While there are equestrian trails and historic farm sites, it's not your typical eventing facility - there is no permanent stabling and no resident horses. The Metro Vancouver Parks website says the following:

"Sunlight-dappled forests, grassland vistas and wetlands make this regional park great habitat for wildlife, from songbirds to salmon to squirrels and more. The network of trails provide lovely routes for walkers to explore the variety of landscapes, the heritage features and a Nature House. Horse riding is also popular here."

If that description is anything to go by, horse riding is the afterthought :)

Part of the cross country area, which is a hay field too. Photo found here

To the best of my knowledge, there is only the one event a year put on by volunteers, and that's the only time of the year you can camp or keep horses in the park. It's a really lovely park and the volunteers do a fantastic job keeping the XC courses and corrals maintained.

Beautiful trails.Image from here.

Bridget appreciates her tent and grass filled pen, is less impressed with the neighbour behind.

The format is to have dressage on Friday, XC on Saturday, and show jumping on Sunday. So, a full three days. I enjoy the relaxed pace a lot more than the typical events that fit it all into 2 days. 

Show jumping is on grass, B always thinks that's pointless- fields are for grazing.

Camping and amenities are pretty rustic - there is just a big field to camp in. They organize porta potties and a food truck on site, so you can quite easily survive, but quite honestly the park is within a 10min drive of everything so there's no reason you can't head into Langley (a city in it's own right, and also a suburb of Vancouver) for a shower or a nice dinner.

A good part of the reason this one is my favorite is because it's pretty easy to convince my husband to come along and the proximity to everything combined with the easy schedule means we can usually fit in a dinner and movie night and a couple of fun outings elsewhere in the city. One year we went to an afternoon football game downtown after my early morning cross country time.

Our first event! I was sure I was going to die, B looks like she might be starting to figure it out. If I remember right that year we had refusals at the first and second jumps when she was like "Wait!What?" :)

My very favorite part of this event, though, is that pretty much everyone goes. The divisions are usually huge for our area and it's a lot of fun to chat and catch up with everyone you might not regularly see.

Finally, they don't have events, but they should. My favorite 'real' show grounds is TBird. They won me over with the hot showers and laundry even at the off season events we attend, and they won Bridget over with the lovely stalls, all rubber matted with huge banks of shavings included. The grounds are always immaculate and the service is amazing. Surprisingly, for the shows I attend, the fees still are in line with other local venues with far less in the way of amenities.

Actually, checking the schedule,  a person could theoretically attend both Campbell Valley and T-Bird's Summer Fort Classic 4* Grand Prix.

22 minute drive between the two is doable.

Sounds like a road trip to me!

Topline Weekend

Where to start?

I was away almost a week by the time we factored in travel time and the fact that this was a "back to back" horse trials (2 separate events) running over 4 days. I'm not sure if that's a common set up elsewhere, but here, with our lack of regular competitions and long travel distances, it seems to be a format a lot of people like.

Up at 4:00am to hook up the trailer and get to the first ferry, arrived by 2:30pm. I rode along with one of the parents trailering for the first time. I give the guy five stars: a ferry ride, through the city of Vancouver, then over the Coast Mountains (The Coquihalla Hwy that connects the coast to the interior is, imo, a tougher drive than our Rocky Mtn routes), all on his first time towing a trailer! Also, he used to be a concert organizer so had lots of cool stories. 5* ride, for sure :)

We stabled and camped across the street at a lovely farm. The camping and stabling at the venue looked very cramped, so we felt very grateful to have a barn and series of paddocks to ourselves. The farm we stayed at is where one of our Canadian Olympians grew up, so for me it was a bit inspiring, I've been a fan of hers for a long time!

My little campsite. So glad I had that shelter, there was rain and thunderstorms every day so it was pretty nice to have a place to dry off.

The weather was pretty bad the entire time we were there, so I appreciated having a dry area to set up my little tent, as well as water and power right there.

We took 6 horses with us, including Ginger, the ever lovely Q Mare, and "my" horse to care for for the weekend, Romeo. Romeo is a giant ex dressage horse, who is learning to jump and went Starter. He's adorable. The other horses were all signed up for Training or Pre-Training.

Ginger appreciated the barn

My grooming experience was interesting. Romeo tried to kill himself twice over the course of the week, so 10/10 do not recommend being responsible for him, lol. I left him alone for 15min the first time and he managed to get cast in his stall and rip a shoe and half his hoof off, plus scare himself badly. The second incident involved him mysteriously getting out of his stall and in with a dominant group of horses in a paddock, where he got all beat up and nicked that vein that goes up the inside of their hind legs...so.much.blood.everywhere! So, the poor dude was withdrawn from the second competition and had to take some meds until we got him home to his mom.

He should have jumped in with these two instead, they were in love with him.

None of the other horses attempted suicide and were all good eggs all week, so there's that! Ginger packed her rider around like a superstar. They had a bunch of time on XC during the first event, and some refusals the second. The footing deteriorated over the weekend and her kid wasn't super confident, so no one is blaming Ginger for taking her time and kindly opting out of the not so safe distances her young rider was getting her to.

Q Mare and her rider did fantastic, finishing in the ribbons the first event and having an even better run the second, just with a bit of unfortunate time penalties there.

Mr Romeo got a lovely ribbon to take home from his first event, and was winning the second before we withdrew him, so everyone was pretty happy with him even tho he was a bit high maintenance.

Ginger again. I was so busy getting horses and riders ready I really didn't get much time to take pictures of the actual competitions. My braiding game is really strong right now tho! :)

Our other barnmates all had solid outings, and I think everyone came away confident and ready to move up at their next shows.

I had time to walk the Training and Pre Training courses and both looked super fun. There was a lot of terrain utilized (there was one very steep hill I'm pretty sure I'd have walked down lol) and some challenging lines to attack if you wanted to make time, but the jumps themselves were pretty straightforward. The footing was a challenge in a lot of spots, but by all accounts it rode well enough. To be successful, I think you'd have definitely wanted a surefooted horse that's comfortable out alone in the back woods over terrain - not a lot of open,  flat XC field there!

Some of the lower levels looked tough...we were joking the XC was going to be their Olympics! Definitely a good one to go to if you have thoughts of moving up by year's end...I think if you had a good round there you'd be good to go for a move up at any of our other semi local events later in the season.

Despite the weather, I fit in a quick visit to a vineyard and a dairy, so wine and cheese was had. The venue is also close to town, so we had a few dinners out and the kids got to go to a movie on the last night.

Beach weather was a bit of a fail. Zero people there on a long weekend, lol.

There's really too much to recap here. I had a great time. I'm left with a lot to think over...I really enjoyed helping the kids all weekend and am 100% sure that's something I want to continue doing. I'm looking forward to getting my Equine Canada coaching certifications. For my own riding goals, the courses looked super fun and I've been offered a half lease on the lovely Audrey mare if I want to add in some jumping lessons along with the dressage ones I currently take and try moving up the eventing levels. One of the horses I helped with this weekend is just my type and also for sale, so that's being tossed around as well as an option while we wait for Sophie to grow up.

Not So Great Dressage

Time to recap our tests this past weekend!

I think I mentioned Bridget's saddle was out getting new billets and being reflocked for many months. Enough months that when the fitter showed up the morning of the show, it did not fit. At all. It's way too wide now that B has lost weight and changed shape. A quick look at my jump saddle confirmed it's not as bad, but not ideal anymore either. Ughhh, did not like paying $500 to get a saddle back that didn't fit, but particularly didn't like hearing neither saddle fit.

Anyone looking for a County Competitor in super good shape? 17.5", XW tree, short flap. For sale or trade for similar in a wide tree.

We tried a shimmable half pad, but yeah, with worst dressage test ever happening with that set up I'm going to go out on a limb and say B did not approve. Not that I'm totally blaming the saddle, B was certainly in a mood and I ended up not having enough warm up due to a last minute boot zipper malfunction. I also could find a place to sit with the saddle tipping so far forward, so it was all a bit struggle bus.  Our score was 57% if you're curious...lots of 5.5's and 6's due to B being very up and braced throughout. I think the highest score was my 6.5 for rider.

B about 5 min after I put her away. Arguing is exhausting! :)

EC lent me her lovely saddle for test 2, and also gave us a pretty intense lesson after test 1. I'm glad she was there because honestly I was pretty frustrated with B and the sadde  situation, so left to my own devices would have probably just called it a day. EC is genius at acknowledging where things went wrong, but also at giving me the belief I can fix those things independently and that it's always worth trying again.

Another 17.5" XW County for sale or trade

So, test 2 went WAY better. B was still in a really grumpy mood, but I felt like I rode to the very best of my ability and got the most out of her I was going to. A solid test with a well behaved B and no errors was good for 63%. Lots of 6's and 6.5's and I get the feeling the judge was just wanting a little "more" from B, although I got a "well ridden" and a nice rider score :) In this very competitive area, that's still good for last place tho, lol.

Never in my life worked so hard for 63% or to be 6/6...so this ribbon goes proudly in the jar with all the rest

I scratched Sunday, because I just wasn't having fun, and I'm sure B wasn't either. And, life is too short not to enjoy it! Instead of showing, I called tests (OMG, calling upper level tests might be a skill in itself - so much happening, so quickly!) and took the new pony for a walk around the grounds.

B looking cute today

Moving forward, I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider giving up dressage with Bridget. She's miserable to deal with when she's in a mood. But then EC and I started talking about that, and I was like "oh wait, she gets like this with jumping, cross country...even trail riding some times. Its kind of just who she is." So EC talked me off the ledge, and lent me her dressage saddle while I get appropriate tack sorted. Worst case, B is a great project for me to keep picking away at in preparation for moving up with another horse. I know this sounds bad, particularly  with the saddle situation, but I'm still really feeling like she let me down. The reality in this moment though is that I love her, she's the horse I have, and it's on me to unlock the puzzle pieces if I want to show her more successfully at this level. The challenging horses are the ones that make us better riders, right? :)

Baby Superstar

Apologies in advance as my phone kept dying all weekend and so I got very limited media.

We'll discuss my dressage tests, saddle and trailer woes at a later date (oh, and my tall boot zipper packed it in about 10 min before my first test too, talk about a weird week!) For now, I just want to talk about how pleased and excited I am about the new girl! And no, I haven't settled on a barn name yet...so forgive me calling her New Pony for the short term.

My coach picked her up Friday afternoon and immediately fell in love. "She's a mini Audrey!" (Audrey being her up and coming dressage star and my very favorite horse in the barn to ride - they won their Fourth level classes and the high score this weekend  - go team!) Coach's 10 year old son also fell in love, naming her "Sass" and begging me to keep her at their barn :)

I met her for the first time and fell on love with her too. She's really sweet and inquisitive, and also very sensible. She's really well mannered, leads nicely, and is super with feet and grooming. She LOVES being brushed! On a practical note, she thinks and investigates things before reacting, which I much appreciate!

Anyway, a short list of things new pony did this week without any drama:

-Trailering. Trailered in the shipper's big rig, my coach's step up 4 horse, and our little borrowed 2 horse with absolutely no fuss. Stood quietly on the trailer for 2 ferry rides!

-Hanging out at a show. Some of the horses in surrounding stalls were a bit rambunctious (Audrey, I'm looking at you!), and while she was certainly aware of the atmosphere, she ate and drank well, and rested quietly. I was pleased she didn't scream for her new buddies as they came and went from their classes.

One day, that'll be you in the big ring, baby pony!

-Explored TBird pretty much in it's entirety. I handwalked her everyhere and she was great! The odd baby moment where she wasn't sure and wanted to "snuggle" or rush but generally she was super about personal space and not pulling. Loved that the default for everything scary was to want to walk up and look at it closer, also she wasnt worried about leaving the other horses.

She came with the cutest pony halter.

-Tolerated EC's son. He's a 10 year old boy, sometimes he's a bit loud and enthusiastic for some horses. She loved him though, and was quite content to let him groom her and generally make a big fuss of her. So cute!

-Visited EC's on our way home. Marched into the barn like she owned it, trotted around the round pen maybe twice before settling in for dinner and a rest.

The other horses at EC's were so excited to meet her, but this was about the extent of her interest in them, lol

-Finally, settled in to home very quietly and easily. 

Our weather has been awful, so she got a new rainsheet today. She's so teeny, I ended up buying her a 63" blanket! 

And her one big baby moment so far? Somehow, at the show, her water bucket exploded into a million pieces. I don't know if she dumped it and stepped in it or what, but yeah...it lasted like 30min. So, I bought her a heavy duty bucket with that new rainsheet ;)

Quick Updates

I'm just sitting in the ferry line up, waiting to head home after a very busy weekend!

New pony arrived, and was a superstar all weekend. She is such a good baby, and so brave!

As I worried might happen, Bridget pretty much opted out of dressage on Saturday, and so EC and I were both pretty disappointed. Our first test was absolutely awful, and scored accordingly, our second test was much better but still not great. I scratched Sunday, because Saturday's rides weren't at all fun for either of us. Life's too short for that, so I'm going to think on things a bit.

In other news, the saddle fitter came out and my dressage saddle does not fit Bridget now that she lost weight. No words for that, 6 months of waiting for it to be reflocked and new billets put on, and it turns out I need a new one. Oh, and a new jump saddle...ughh my luck is a little stinky right now!

On a happier note, my coach and barn mates all had a super weekend, and despite the saddle saga and the bad rides, it was a lot of fun to be there. I'm super inspired by all the great riding and gorgeous horses we were surrounded with. I also met tons of lovely people! Shout out to the super nice lady who reads this blog! I'm so sorry I didn't get your name and was so busy. Next time? :)

Anyway, lots to think on, and lots of details to come, I'm sure. Hope everyone had a great weekend!