tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71220740248869684872024-02-18T20:36:26.098-08:00Eventing It Up In The Great White North!albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-91720383148479218352014-06-22T15:29:00.000-07:002014-06-22T15:29:29.614-07:00James Alliston Clinic<p>Just wanted to share my helmet cam videos from the James Alliston Clinic last weekend.
<p>It was a great clinic and lots of fun! James was great, very helpful and knowledgeable, and while nothing he had us do or told us was earth shattering, it was a number of little adjustments and suggestions that helped greatly improve the big picture. We did a lot of course type stuff, instead of the typical start/stop of a lot of cross country schooling, and it definitely helped us and the horses flow better as it simulated an actual cross country round vs just schooling certain questions. I felt like those little things helped me a LOT by the end of the clinic, and it seemed like everyone else in my group felt similar about it as well! I have trouble finding good distances to gallop fences, so James helped me a bunch with that, and I felt like I had improved a lot in that area by the end of the clinic.
<p>I did something a bit different in this clinic, I kept my helmet cam running to capture James' feedback, which I found very helpful to go back and review afterwards! I also recorded Sunny and I heading down to soak legs in the river, that's at the end of both videos of anyone is interested.
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4ljbJUgWoGI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UMV_GCCmyZQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>My photobucket has an angry because I have apparently exceeded my bandwidth for this month, so photos from the clinic can be viewed on my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/albertaeventer
<p>Up next, Cochrane Horse Trials next weekend!! :)albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-58106885764055000432014-06-01T11:06:00.000-07:002014-06-22T15:09:54.608-07:00Mustang Powder Horse Trials!!<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/20CBAD75-B75A-4539-B8DF-4F89AEDF3522.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/20CBAD75-B75A-4539-B8DF-4F89AEDF3522.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20CBAD75-B75A-4539-B8DF-4F89AEDF3522.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/518A4699-190A-45B9-BDE4-28D17109400C.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/518A4699-190A-45B9-BDE4-28D17109400C.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 518A4699-190A-45B9-BDE4-28D17109400C.jpg" /></a>
<p>Typically we just travel to events the day before, but we left an extra day early for this one! It was a gorgeous day and we pulled into Chase mid-afternoon and set up camp. I hopped on Sunny for a flat ride and she was pretty good actually. Had a quiet rest of the day as we'd arrived extra early, the event didn't start till Saturday.
<p>Enjoying the creek!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/7B74C698-C2A9-4AA3-8688-58B64B2565EC.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/7B74C698-C2A9-4AA3-8688-58B64B2565EC.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 7B74C698-C2A9-4AA3-8688-58B64B2565EC.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8385.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8385.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8385.jpg" /></a>
<p>Friday I had booked a lesson with our high performance coach Lynda Ramsay, who I hadn't ridden with since our not so great couple clinic rides back in January. Well I have been working super hard with Sunny and Lynda definitely noticed!! Thank god, haha, those couple rides with her were really kind of a disaster, back before her bit change, etc. Just not good. Had a pretty good lesson though so was feeling pretty confident for dressage on Saturday.
<p>Some pics from my lesson on Friday...
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8412.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8412.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8412.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8406.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8406.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8406.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8420.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8420.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8420.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8390.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8390.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8390.jpg" /></a>
<p>My dressage time was 11:58am which was absolutely amazing, it has seriously been YEARS since I have had ride times later than 8 or 9am! What a leisurely morning, hanging out, I took Sunny for a walk and a graze, braided her, took the dogs for a long walk too, haha. So nice! Mounted up and was pleasantly surprised I was totally calm. I don't *usually* get horribly nervous or anything but the past bit I had definitely been getting a bit of the butterflies before dressage especially, just because if we are going to shit the bed, that is definitely where we'll do it!!
<p>Sunny catching some Zzzzz's on dressage day.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/ABA49960-1777-4478-BA0E-39A6927840AB.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/ABA49960-1777-4478-BA0E-39A6927840AB.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo ABA49960-1777-4478-BA0E-39A6927840AB.jpg" /></a>
<p>Had a lovely warm up with Lynda giving me some pointers, and I felt like for once I could possibly have a decent dressage test!! Unfortunately once we entered the ring Sunny's peanut brain had left the building and we had a rough test. She was super fussy in the contact and broke to canter a few times in our trot work. Didn't blow our *all* of our counter canter this time like in California, but it was tense overall and wasn't anywhere near how well I know we can do the movements.
<p>Warming up...
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8463.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8463.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8463.jpg" /></a>
<p>The test WAS slightly better than our dressage in California, but of course we had a really tough judge. The marks and comments were very fair though, I definitely agreed with everything she wrote on the test! Was a little bit disappointed though since we had had a really nice warm up and lesson the day before. How the hell do I get that in the ring?? Ugh, so frustrating, I'm still trying to figure that part out. Dressage is always going to be a work in progress with Sunny, I'm pretty sure:P
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8574.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8574.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8574.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8591.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8591.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8591.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8610.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8610.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8610.jpg" /></a>
<p>Was also disappointed to see that I had blown any hopes of getting a qualifying score at Chase when I checked the dressage scores. You have to have 75 penalty points or better in dressage, and I had gotten 77.3. Damn it anyways. But that's the way it goes sometimes!! Pretty sad when it's the dressage that's holding us back. Ugh.
<p>Walked my cross country that afternoon and was SO FREAKING EXCITED. I have cliniced at Chase a few times and they have so much terrain and fun stuff, and Nick is definitely old school in every way. It said right on the website that this was not going to be a soft "start the year off" course and that your horse should be solid at the level, that it would test boldness and scope first and foremost, so I knew it was going to be a big gallopy course with lots of terrain. Was absolutely over the moon that Nick had included ALL OF THE CRAZY FUN STUFF in the prelim course!!! The log on the hill, the hole in the wall, the BFL, the suicide slide, SHIT YES OH MY GOD!!!! You guys have no idea how excited I was. There was a ton of rain in the forecast for the weekend, and I wasn't worried in the slightest because every time I have ridden at Chase it has been raining and I've done most of the crazy stuff regardless and their footing holds up great, so I just kind of though, "Hey, this just might be my Badminton!!" Lol.
<p>I haven't posted a course walk here in a while so I figured this one was definitely worth sharing!!!!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/58EF06F9-A710-4859-9320-F8FCFD752A71.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/58EF06F9-A710-4859-9320-F8FCFD752A71.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 58EF06F9-A710-4859-9320-F8FCFD752A71.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/CF2D2D81-A712-40AE-8E89-063F77779688.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/CF2D2D81-A712-40AE-8E89-063F77779688.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo CF2D2D81-A712-40AE-8E89-063F77779688.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/1FE7CCE8-478A-495F-95FF-58C849BEE164.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/1FE7CCE8-478A-495F-95FF-58C849BEE164.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1FE7CCE8-478A-495F-95FF-58C849BEE164.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/D09E88C4-4314-4875-9771-4D578246CC0D.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/D09E88C4-4314-4875-9771-4D578246CC0D.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D09E88C4-4314-4875-9771-4D578246CC0D.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/E04FECEB-BC76-426D-BAA3-641A30491BA2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/E04FECEB-BC76-426D-BAA3-641A30491BA2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo E04FECEB-BC76-426D-BAA3-641A30491BA2.jpg" /></a>
<p>The log on the hill!!!! The water complex was filled for our actual course.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/2A63239D-C244-4511-A9FA-EC40E163FBEC.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/2A63239D-C244-4511-A9FA-EC40E163FBEC.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2A63239D-C244-4511-A9FA-EC40E163FBEC.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/94E1035E-D6EE-4862-B99F-D247422210F4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/94E1035E-D6EE-4862-B99F-D247422210F4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 94E1035E-D6EE-4862-B99F-D247422210F4.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/4580DB87-E934-4ECE-85E1-C8DC4C64771F.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/4580DB87-E934-4ECE-85E1-C8DC4C64771F.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4580DB87-E934-4ECE-85E1-C8DC4C64771F.jpg" /></a>
<p>I know some riders were a bit worried about this line of jumps, but I think most everyone rode it well.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/8D58DA97-C1CF-4157-A28D-3D135E8BEEC4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/8D58DA97-C1CF-4157-A28D-3D135E8BEEC4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8D58DA97-C1CF-4157-A28D-3D135E8BEEC4.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/F26E594E-EC22-4B2F-930E-5956FD438EBE.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/F26E594E-EC22-4B2F-930E-5956FD438EBE.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo F26E594E-EC22-4B2F-930E-5956FD438EBE.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/99F5B664-3CA6-4606-9241-8BBFF931DE1E.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/99F5B664-3CA6-4606-9241-8BBFF931DE1E.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 99F5B664-3CA6-4606-9241-8BBFF931DE1E.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/B8B540BF-7649-4D01-BDCB-D25ED75DA105.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/B8B540BF-7649-4D01-BDCB-D25ED75DA105.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo B8B540BF-7649-4D01-BDCB-D25ED75DA105.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/AF1C90B1-321D-4B4A-B257-8D72F89B29B9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/AF1C90B1-321D-4B4A-B257-8D72F89B29B9.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AF1C90B1-321D-4B4A-B257-8D72F89B29B9.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/96A3E053-B997-4861-992D-C532547D4D33.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/96A3E053-B997-4861-992D-C532547D4D33.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 96A3E053-B997-4861-992D-C532547D4D33.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/7821BA90-811D-48BC-AC85-B6246EB02143.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/7821BA90-811D-48BC-AC85-B6246EB02143.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 7821BA90-811D-48BC-AC85-B6246EB02143.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/CA608B3E-F787-413B-88AE-EF9DEB00F5AC.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/CA608B3E-F787-413B-88AE-EF9DEB00F5AC.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo CA608B3E-F787-413B-88AE-EF9DEB00F5AC.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/5F6A6BC0-DC88-4922-8759-DA71F2727324.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/5F6A6BC0-DC88-4922-8759-DA71F2727324.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 5F6A6BC0-DC88-4922-8759-DA71F2727324.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/9A5009D1-FF28-4703-9A9B-2800C3AB8D55.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/9A5009D1-FF28-4703-9A9B-2800C3AB8D55.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 9A5009D1-FF28-4703-9A9B-2800C3AB8D55.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/F2EC4CE8-EC74-43BE-8381-6C864505F044.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/F2EC4CE8-EC74-43BE-8381-6C864505F044.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo F2EC4CE8-EC74-43BE-8381-6C864505F044.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/625AD88D-6BDC-4236-B7F4-F7C29B688FAF.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/625AD88D-6BDC-4236-B7F4-F7C29B688FAF.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 625AD88D-6BDC-4236-B7F4-F7C29B688FAF.jpg" /></a>
<p>The bullfinch.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/7C5DA642-2DF2-4F87-BDE1-19EED602C203.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/7C5DA642-2DF2-4F87-BDE1-19EED602C203.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 7C5DA642-2DF2-4F87-BDE1-19EED602C203.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/40A42CFF-5323-4A70-AA30-3DEEDCFBF3E6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/40A42CFF-5323-4A70-AA30-3DEEDCFBF3E6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 40A42CFF-5323-4A70-AA30-3DEEDCFBF3E6.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/photo.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/photo.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo photo.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/64686200-DF69-4BF4-AC82-37AAD242B1D0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/64686200-DF69-4BF4-AC82-37AAD242B1D0.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 64686200-DF69-4BF4-AC82-37AAD242B1D0.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/8441719F-54A6-4F57-A609-871292C7F7A4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/8441719F-54A6-4F57-A609-871292C7F7A4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8441719F-54A6-4F57-A609-871292C7F7A4.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/B23C9C13-65F5-48F1-8E38-D68960E09AE8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/B23C9C13-65F5-48F1-8E38-D68960E09AE8.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo B23C9C13-65F5-48F1-8E38-D68960E09AE8.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/0B1614F2-089C-4E0C-B9A7-36AAD5072E38.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/0B1614F2-089C-4E0C-B9A7-36AAD5072E38.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0B1614F2-089C-4E0C-B9A7-36AAD5072E38.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/68952A0D-D6F9-4947-B80A-68328A20FB0B.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/68952A0D-D6F9-4947-B80A-68328A20FB0B.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 68952A0D-D6F9-4947-B80A-68328A20FB0B.jpg" /></a>
<p>The BFL!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/73151A94-B273-4A8E-8588-5588921BF4FD.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/73151A94-B273-4A8E-8588-5588921BF4FD.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 73151A94-B273-4A8E-8588-5588921BF4FD.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/D82FA55E-B1D2-424C-BA7F-6CF057182275.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/D82FA55E-B1D2-424C-BA7F-6CF057182275.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D82FA55E-B1D2-424C-BA7F-6CF057182275.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/A695AE85-B2DF-4363-A3D8-145F92779C66.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/A695AE85-B2DF-4363-A3D8-145F92779C66.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo A695AE85-B2DF-4363-A3D8-145F92779C66.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/2327D486-C725-448F-96D7-EC828457A46D.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/2327D486-C725-448F-96D7-EC828457A46D.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2327D486-C725-448F-96D7-EC828457A46D.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/E0E406EC-E78A-4BC9-BC6B-C8945D70EEA7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/E0E406EC-E78A-4BC9-BC6B-C8945D70EEA7.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo E0E406EC-E78A-4BC9-BC6B-C8945D70EEA7.jpg" /></a>
<p>The Suicide Slide!!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/33AB9A29-166E-42B0-AC4C-C49BDF1B6553.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/33AB9A29-166E-42B0-AC4C-C49BDF1B6553.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 33AB9A29-166E-42B0-AC4C-C49BDF1B6553.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/C341F7B5-3B5F-4346-90D1-24D5A5DC0F06.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/C341F7B5-3B5F-4346-90D1-24D5A5DC0F06.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo C341F7B5-3B5F-4346-90D1-24D5A5DC0F06.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/CFB4F284-58EE-48AC-9118-660410D0B002.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/CFB4F284-58EE-48AC-9118-660410D0B002.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo CFB4F284-58EE-48AC-9118-660410D0B002.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/0C30FA1D-A04E-4915-9524-5CBCC0777B8C.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/0C30FA1D-A04E-4915-9524-5CBCC0777B8C.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0C30FA1D-A04E-4915-9524-5CBCC0777B8C.jpg" /></a>
<p>I was very confident going in. I knew that if I rode like I knew I could, we would rock the course.
Sunday morning, I got up and it was still raining off and on. Went out and watched some of the pre-training riders go, and the ground was holding up fairly well, but there were lots of stops and things. All of the courses were a little tougher than normal with some different questions and terrain so it wasn't a surprise.
<p>Was a wet morning for cross country!!!!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/3311F296-FDBA-4B86-9EE2-3EA7929A9326.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/3311F296-FDBA-4B86-9EE2-3EA7929A9326.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 3311F296-FDBA-4B86-9EE2-3EA7929A9326.jpg" /></a>
<p>Got Sunny all tacked up and headed out to warm up for cross country! I haven't run her with studs since last fall, and it's been quite a while since I've had to stud her up bigger for wet ground, and she was being quite strange about them in our warm up! Really kind of sticky off the ground for the first bit and wanting to take the awkward long spot and diving over the fence instead of adding a stride. Didn't quite get things where I wanted them to be before we were called down to the start box, but once Sunny gets going on course she's usually all business so I wasn't too terribly concerned.
<p>We were fifth to go in our division so I was happy that the footing wouldn't be too chewed up yet when it was out turn to go. I hadn't walked out my minute markers or anything because of the rain, I figured I would just go whatever speed the course/footing warranted, because with the terrain and elevation changes, time was going to be hard enough to make even if it was totally dry! The starter counted us down and we were off!!
<p>I made Sunny take it a bit easy to fence 1. Since Nick is old school he didn't put any cross country jumps in the warm up, and he made sure that jump 1 wasn't just a "nice" fence one, he made sure you had to get riding right from the get go. It was a big stepped table thing with apples all over it, lol. Which Sunny had a hard look at, so a good whack on the shoulder with my crop persuaded her otherwise and we hopped over it and carried on. The first couple fences are always a bit funky and wiggly until we get going, so Sunny was drifting left on the way to 2 and jumped the left side of it. 3 was a vertical right beside the fast moving creek, so a bit spooky, so I revved Sunny up a few strides before that one and then we were in the groove!
<p>We jumped over jump 4 in the fenceline and headed for the old water complex, where 5 was the log on the hill! I made sure Sunny had plenty of rpm's coming in and she galloped up the hill and absolutely LAUNCHED the log, landing partway down the hill on the landing side, and I would have flown right up to her ears I'm sure, but somehow managed to plant my knuckles right on her withers when I went to fly forward, and caught myself. I muted out the SHIT part of the my HOLY SHIT! exclamation upon landing in my helmet cam, lol. 6, 7, and 8 was the bending line houses, it had walked 5 strides and then 4 strides, and I definitely had way too much horse coming in because it came up so fast, Sunny launched the first 2 and did them in just 4 strides, which made my turn to the last one way too wide, but Sunny is awesome and jumped it at an angle no problem from the awkward approach. From there we had a long gallop to 9, the trakehner, which Sunny no longer thinks requires an actual jumping effort, because she loped over it with a big canter stride, haha. 10 and 11 were set near each other in a fenceline so you jumped one and immediately looped back in a half circle to the other.
<p>Then we came to the new water complex! We had a small house jump that dropped down into the water, then across to the bank out. Then we went up and down a small mound, over a ditch, and one stride to a bank up, then we bounced over a vertical. It rode fabulous, and I was all smiles hearing all the cheering as we galloped on:)
<p>16 was a big ramp that rode well and then I brought Sunny back for the corner at 17. We had a little bit of a long spot there but it a fairly small corner so no major problems. We galloped on and the double brush at 18 and the open oxer at 19 rode well. 20 was a bullfinch jump, with the branches sticking out of it well over my head!! While walking we had a bit of a chuckle, "Haha, oh they obviously haven't trimmed this jump!!" And then a moment of "Oh...this is NICK we're talking about. Yeah, he's definitely not trimming this jump!!" Lol. Sunny had a bit of a weird look at it as we approached it on course but didn't think twice about jumping through!
<p>We had a bit of a gallop in the field before turning and gunning it up a steep slope to 21, the park bench, and right after was 22, the hole in the wall. Then next was the BFL!!!! It was a option for my division, and only 4 of us did it! I gathered Sunny up a bit but kept on galloping, and she flew over it and down the hill. Had to weave a bit through the trees and our next compulsory flags, over 24 a small skinny long which was no problem.
<p>25 was a big ramp and 2 strides to a chevron, which rode well. Then a long gallop to 26, and then 27 was suicide hill! We had a smaller jump in the fence line and then 2 strides before they headed down the crazy steep long downhill slope! I should've brought Sunny back just a titch more before the jump, she jumped quite forward over it and then I definitely tipped forward on landing as she geared down, and again was lucky I managed to plant both hands on her mane to keep me from nose diving right off the front!! Sunny proceeded to TROT down this crazy ass hill, and I just gave her a loose rein and let her go!
<p>Galloped over the final jump and across the finish line, and there were NO other horses or riders there!! Found out later nearly half our division got eliminated! I checked my watch and knew I would have time penalties, but it was kind of crazy that I was the third fastest in my division, aside from Ali and Tosca, who are Nick's wife and daughter, and that was their home turf so obviously they had a big advantage knowing the footing better than everyone else. I felt that I had gone at a pretty good pace for the weather, Sunny is naturally quick and really sure footed, so I kind of let her choose her own speed in a lot of places, but I wouldn't have wanted to go any faster for sure.
<p>The trakehner.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8672.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8672.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8672.jpg" /></a>
<p>Galloping in such a better balance!! Not head super low and front end down!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8677.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8677.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8677.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8688.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8688.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8688.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8691.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8691.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8691.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8694.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8694.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8694.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8699.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8699.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8699.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8702.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8702.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8702.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8704.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8704.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8704.jpg" /></a>
<p>Helmet Cam!!
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UUlUwnFWPRw?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p>Was pretty psyched when they posted the results and I had jumped from 13th to 5th!! I bathed Sunny and stood her in the creek for a while to ice her legs. Then Kris and I headed back out to watch the CCI* and training divisions on cross country. Saw Nick later and went up and gave him a big awkward hug and thanked him for making the FUNNEST cross country course ever!! Haha. I'm such a dork:)
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/34D0E496-E518-4085-ABD6-8B61D6EB4AA7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/34D0E496-E518-4085-ABD6-8B61D6EB4AA7.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 34D0E496-E518-4085-ABD6-8B61D6EB4AA7.jpg" /></a>
<p>Did some more leg soaking in the creek before heading over to the indoor arena for the supper and dance. Had awesome food and a few drinks and lots of awesome visiting with people, it was fun!! We headed out around 10 to go to bed but the dance was getting pretty rowdy with lots of people dancing and boat races to finish off the keg.
<p>Was up bright and early to get ready for stadium. The course they set looked good! Lots of turns and it was the old water complex, so not a ton of room and the course designer definitely used the terrain very well. Got to watch some of the training riders go on a slightly different track than I would ride, but it was riding well. Those who rode it forward and answered the terrain questions well had good rounds. Those who were tentative or didn't commit to their pace and lines had rails down or stops. I thought it was a great course to compliment the bold, forward thinking cross country we'd done the day before.
<p>I felt my stadium round went well, with just a few minor bobbles. At the beginning of the course when I picked up the canter, I'm still learning how to ride "not crazy Sunny", so I came in a bit underpowered to the first fence and she I think she didn't really realize we were actually starting the course, and chipped in and punched out the top rail. I immediately reorganized and geared up a notch, and 2 and 3 rode well, and the triple combination at 4 was perfect as well. Then we did a tight circle back to 5, an oxer, and I basically didn't see a distance so I let Sunny do her thing, she took off long and jumped huge, and I saw up just a bit too quick and she just caught the back rail with her hind feet as she landed. 6, 7 and 8 rode great, and going down to 9 it was a long gallop on a downhill. I saw the long this time and Sunny launched over it. Then back around to 10AB, the one stride, clear through there. So I was pretty happy with that overall. It's all getting smoother and more organized for sure, definitely heading in the right direction!!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8806.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8806.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8806.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8808.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8808.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8808.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8809.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8809.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8809.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8812.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8812.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8812.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/C14115ED-78D9-4F1A-B608-E57BFFA00E48.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/C14115ED-78D9-4F1A-B608-E57BFFA00E48.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo C14115ED-78D9-4F1A-B608-E57BFFA00E48.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8816.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8816.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8816.jpg" /></a>
<p>Helmet Cam!!
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fgttoM1Q4o8?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p>Waited around for presentations, as I had stayed in 5th. They had lots of awesome prizes which was very cool, I got a super nice folding chair and a huge bag of horse treats. We collected our huge ribbon and did the victory gallop! Then we immediately started packing up to head home.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8830.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8830.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8830.jpg" /></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/aDSC_8839.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/aDSC_8839.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_8839.jpg" /></a>
<p>The drive back took FOREVER, lol. Going there goes fairly quick for some reason, but the way back always seems to take AGES. We were packed and headed out around 2pm, got to Jenn's barn at 11:30pm to switch trailers and drop her off, got to my barn to unload Sunny at 1:30am, and then it was well after 2am by the time we got home. And Kris and I both had to be up at 6am to work the next morning. What a brutal day!! Lol. Oh well, it was worth it, I thought the event went great, aside from crappy dressage, ugh:P Someday we will get this silly dressage thing!!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Chase/14464BDB-7A33-48EC-BFD6-328E25AF4245.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Chase/14464BDB-7A33-48EC-BFD6-328E25AF4245.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 14464BDB-7A33-48EC-BFD6-328E25AF4245.jpg" /></a>
<p>And I was on Eventing Nation!!! I had seen them post a few things about the event, so I figure I'd send in my helmet cam video just for shits and giggles. And they total posted it!! :D So exciting!
<p><a href="http://eventingnation.com/home/wednesday-video-from-kentucky-performance-products-chase-creek-helmet-cam/"></a>
<p>I am not quite sure where Sunny and I are going from here. I had been planning to do the 1 star at Rebecca Farms, but I needed 3 more qualifying scores before then to make it happen, I had hoped for Chase Creek, Aspen Farm (Washington) and Cochrane. And I didn't get the dressage score I needed at Chase, so still 3 short. My only options now are doing Beaumont, Aspen, and Cochrane, but with Beaumont and Aspen only a week apart, there is just no way I'm going to run my horse into the ground two weekends in a row, plus add 25 hours of trailering on top of it. That is just retarded. Yes, I spent a ton of money on this stupid FEI passport which was a huge pain in the ass and I want to use it, but I'm not willing to ruin my horse to do so. My life never goes as planned anyways so I'm pretty good at just going with the flow and I usually don't get upset when everything gets screwed right up, because it happens pretty often! Lol.
<p>So I withdrew from Aspen. I thought about still going just because, but it's just so far and freaking expensive, and I need to get on finding a new jump saddle asap instead, because I have been very fortunate to have my barn lend me one for the time being, but I obviously can't borrow one forever! This weekend my barn is heading to the Paramount jumper show and we are going to do 1.20m there, my first ever, which should be super fun I had registered for the James Alliston clinic the same weekend as Aspen (June 14/15) so will go ahead with my original plan and do that. The Cochrane event is June 28/29, I haven't done that event for a few years, but apparently they've changed the cross country courses, so that will be a good "new" event for us this year. The weekend after Cochrane is a dressage schooling show which I am going to. Then we have a weekend off before we head down to Montana!
<p>We are head down on July 18th, a week before the event, going to Herron Park to school cross country, and Sandra Donnelly is going to put on a dressage schooling day and a derby day there before the even as well, so it will be an excellent lead up. Just going to enter regular prelim at Rebecca, I will definitely be walking the cross country wishing so hard that I was running the CCI*, but I will get over it.
So my new plan is to use this year to get the rest of the qualifying scores I need, hammer out some problems, and get Sunny's little physical issues sorted, nothing major, just some niggling chiro stuff we are working on. She is looking a lot better now, but a few weeks ago she definitely wouldn't have passed the jog! And get this stupid dressage thing hopefully sorted and presentable once and for all, and challenge ourselves a bit more with the stadium.
<p>Basically get everything prepped and ready so I can come out next year and have everything I need to go back to California, maybe do a 1 star, and move up to Intermediate!! Just need to find somewhere to go down there where I can work off my lessons and board. I'm going to save as much money as I can, but if I can set myself something up to work off some of my horse/daily expenses, that would be awesome. So the research begins, haha. I want to go down for as long as possible too next year. I can be in the US for 6 months without needing anything special, so we'll see what I can arrange and figure out with what I can save between now and then!!albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-83040403183957669032014-05-12T17:57:00.001-07:002014-05-12T17:57:55.621-07:00California Part Three!<p>Tuesday morning I had arranged for a cross country lesson with Taren Atkinson, and James came out for the last part of it as well, so was very cool to get some feedback from both of them. I told Taren that if Sunny was being good, I wanted to school some of the Intermediate stuff, since it was all still decorated and flagged after the event. So we started out with some warm up fences and schooled a few of the prelim questions we'd had on course at the event. Taren had me really work on getting Sunny's balance more uphill on the approach to the fences, just the way she is built, she tends to gallop more downhill with her head really low, and sometimes likes to disregard what I'm telling her on course, thinking she knows better than me, so we sometimes have really flat and awkward fences because I can't get her to where I need her to be before the fence. It's a lot of work for me too as a rider, which is why I've been doing a bit of experimenting in the bit department lately.
<!--Read More-->
<p>Taren had me doing the prelim 9AB combination which had the A set on a downhill and the B set on an uphill. Taren was great, very honest and blunt, and it was hilarious, we were approaching it and she was yelling "LEG LEG LEG! COME BACK! COME BACK MORE!!! BE A BITCH ABOUT IT IF YOU HAVE TO!! SHE HAS TO LISTEN TO YOU!!!" Which is totally true, I need to be more of a bitch when Sunny isn't listening to me, haha. So then she had me come around to the Intermediate question, set in the same place, jump in on the downhill and then uphill to a skinny chevron out. And the first time around Sunny pretty much ignored me and went to blast over the first jump, got in WAY too close and hit the jump, but because she's a ninja she totally caught herself on the landing and galloped away like nothing had even happened. Meanwhile I had flown forward so my face was up somewhere near her ears, so I pushed myself back into the saddle and sat up and put my leg on and she absolutely launched over the chevron, she definitely wasn't touching it! So definitely not the ride I had planned at the moment, but it was a good example of Sunny just kind of tuning me out like she does sometimes.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7289.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7289.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7289.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7294.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7294.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7294.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7306.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7306.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7306.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7312.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7312.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7312.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7327.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7327.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7327.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7335.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7335.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7335.jpg"/></a>
<p>Sunny DID learn from that little mistake though, she started listening to me MUCH better after that, ideally though we'll not have to have to scare the pants off bystanders for that to happen in the future! Fixed our approach and did the combination a few more times, much nicer jumping in, but Sunny was still jumping the chevron out so huge though. Like those jumps you have where you go up and you are expecting your horse to touch down any second but they just keep on flying through the air and slowly start falling away from you........ Oh Sunny:P
<p>Moved on to the one water complex, and that's when James came out. We couldn't do some of the questions because the footing wasn't the best in some spots, but we worked on the prelim line and improved my ride by balancing Sunny and getting her more uphill on the approach again and using my half halts better. Then Taren had me come in over the prelim trakehner and bend right to the advanced chevron, which was crazy skinny at the front. I screwed up the first approach and ended up to the left, not straight on, but there was no hesitation, Sunny dug right in and jumped it! Second time was much straighter and smoother. Was so proud of her, really, if Sunny wanted to use any possible excuse to NOT jump something, she had every opportunity to do so at that chevron, you had to super accurate and I wasn't at all the first pass, but she was totally game and jumped it anyways! Was SO proud and happy about that!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7342.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7342.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7342.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7360.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7360.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7360.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7365.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7365.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7365.jpg"/></a>
<p>Ended our session by jumping a wide Intermediate table, then a small vertical, 4 strides to the very wide Intermediate corner. It rode pretty decent, except Sunny jumped the corner a little bit to the left and I kicked the flag down, but she jumped it well so we called it good on that!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7371.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7371.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7371.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7377.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7377.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7377.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7381.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7381.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7381.jpg"/></a>
<p>Helmet Cam:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ejymfOM4ePI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>That session with Taren and James already confirmed what I had known before, what I need to work on if I want to keep moving up with Sunny. She will gallop and jump all damn day, but we need to improve her balance and rideability. Because jumps are getting bigger, and while we still can get away with Sunny ignoring me and tanking around on her forehand sometimes and having the odd awkward jump at prelim, things are going to be WAY less forgiving at intermediate. Sunny is so confident that I definitely want to keep her that way, I would hate for something stupid to happen to ruin that. So I need to get her galloping more uphill, and work on getting her to balance and come back to me quicker and easier before fences. Just in general get her way more UP in front. I didn't add it into the youtube video, but I actually let my helmet cam run through the majority of my ride, so I can go back and listen to everything Taren and James said and make notes. There really is very little question in my mind about IF we could do intermediate, but we do have a lot of things to work first to make sure we will be successful and safe when we finally make that jump. Intermediate is definitely not a level you can just go and kind of wing it or gallop around on a hope and a prayer! The dressage is another huge thing, everyone is SO good at dressage down here, it's kind of inspired me to buckle down and work harder, not just at home, but drilling the flatwork while we're out and about so Sunny can learn to go right to work no matter where we are or what's happening around her.
<p>We planned to pack up right after and get on the road to Galway, but James offered to let Jenn hop on one of his horses before we left, "Goose". Well I didn't realize until partway through the ride that Goose was actually Gustav, James' advanced and Pan Am horse! Definitely goes to show that there's all types in eventing because he definitely looked like a oversized pony with gaits to match! Jenn was very grateful for something to ride, she flatted him and then James had her pop over just a couple small jumps, as Goose was just coming back into serious work. So that was pretty cool:)
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7397.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7397.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7397.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7408.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7408.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7408.jpg"/></a>
<p>This was the day I actually found out about that video that was making the rounds on tv! Jenn and I had wandered out to watch Taren teach some xc first thing in the morning, and she goes "Hey, I saw you on tv last night!" And I so confused, I was like "Uh....what?" And Taren says "Yeah, you're helmet cam!" And I was like "..........What???" So she explains it was a segment called Right This Minute and the people were talking over my Copper Meadows helmet cam, and said she'd send me the video link. I was so shocked and confused, and then a light went on! On my youtube when we had stayed in the hotel, I had gotten a message from the Right This Minute people asking if they could use my video for their show. I skimmed over it but ignored it, because I get lots of random messages like that that aren't legit, but this one WAS apparently!! Lol. Taren sent me the link and when my stupid phone finally let Jenn and I watch it, oh man, we just about died laughing!!! So freaking hilarious, I couldn't believe it!! I posted it to my AlbertaEventer facebook page and everyone loved it! It was shared over 40 times and my reach was over 10000 people! So awesome, haha. My youtube also went absolutely wild with new subscribers and my google ads made $25 in the span of a couple weeks (usually I make around $100 a year) because of the exposure I got from that segment! So overall a very random but cool thing to have happen while I was down there:)
<p>The link once again for anyone who missed it...
<p>http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/horseback-riding-comfort-your-computer-screen
<p>After that we packed up and hit the road to Galway! It was a pretty quick and quiet drive up, just over an hour. Once we arrived we had absolutely no idea where the heck we were supposed to go, we drove around a bit before finding our stabling which conveniently was right beside the other couple Albertans, haha. After we got the horses settled in, we said hi to everyone, parked the trailer, ate some supper, and called it a night!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6938.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6938.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6938.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6917.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6917.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6917.jpg"/></a>
<p>In the morning we took care of the horses and then went to find a Starbucks. Stopped by the tack store to pick up some eye hooks and snaps for buckets in the stall. Then we went back and I lunged Sunny, planning on riding her later that afternoon.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/IMG_6919.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/IMG_6919.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6919.jpg"/></a>
<p>First rides at a new place are always a bit *exciting* for Sunny. More so in California partly because I had her on more alfalfa than usual with the cubes we had brought down, so pretty sure that was firing her up quite a bit too. I had actually picked up a supplement for her that Jenn and I had seen and did a bit of research on while we were down there. http://mushroommatrix.com/store/equine/equine-matrix/ecp-matrix/ecp-matrix.html I figured it couldn't hurt, and I have been kind of looking for sort of an all around type of supplement for her, since she is literally on nothing extra. No joint supps or anything. So I had just 3 feedings of this Mushroom Matrix stuff into her, and got on that day expecting major fireworks! Well Sunny was definitely very up, but I was so shocked and proud of her throughout the ride, even though I could feel she was freaking out on the inside, she managed to keep it together and we had a fairly decent ride! So not sure if it was completely all to do with the supplement, but she definitely seemed a little more relaxed and not quite as on edge as she usually is, so somewhat of a success I'd say?
<p>Also got to watch a USEA high performance session on Wednesday afternoon, which was very very very cool! David O'Connor was coaching Gina Miles, Kristi Nunnink and Matthew Brown over some stadium exercises to prepare for the event.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/IMG_6929.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/IMG_6929.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6929.jpg"/></a>
<p>On Thursday I rode twice, once in the morning and then again in the late afternoon because I wanted Sunny to be a bit tired and needed her to have as much of a brain as possible for dressage Friday morning! It was kind of handy because they had all the dressage arenas set up but closed, but you could ride around them as much as you wanted. So I figured out which ring I was going to be in and spent a ton of time just riding around my ring, nice relaxed sitting trot, and figure eighting around them all so Sunny would figure they were an alright place to be.
<p>They have the racetrack there at Galway which was very awesome and it was open for riding before the event, and I was so tempted to take Sunny for a gallop and helmet cam it, because really, when am I ever going to get the chance to gallop on a track surrounded by freaking PALM TREES??? If we had gotten there a day earlier I probably would have, but she was trying to hard to be so good with the flatwork that I didn't want to take her for a gallop and get her right riled up, and then have to contend with that on dressage day:P So next time for sure!!
<p>Such a gorgeous place!!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7764.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7764.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7764.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7760.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7760.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7760.jpg"/></a>
<p>Galway had AMAZING suppers! Thursday was delicious italian food, and Saturday we had more incredible Mexican food.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/IMG_6974.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/IMG_6974.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6974.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/IMG_6975.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/IMG_6975.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6975.jpg"/></a>
<p>Friday morning rolled around and Jenn offered to braid Sunny again since her braiding at the combined training show had made Sunny zen right out, lol. I headed down to the warm up about an hour before my test and had a nice relaxing hack around on a long rein, and had a fairly good warm up.
<p>Our test overall was definitely better than at Copper, at least Sunny wasn't totally flipping out the whole time, but we still have a long long way to go yet. Had a bit of a rough start though, before I went in I was trotting around the ring and they whistled for me to start. So I continued down to the end, and did a nice big relaxed circled to organize ourselves before entering and went to head in. I turned to enter at A and saw that someone had walked up behind the judges' booth and both the judge and the scribe had turned around to talk to them. I had a flash of "Oh crap, maybe that WASN'T my whistle..." and slammed on the brakes right before I entered the arena. Then the judge turned around and yelled "THAT WAS YOUR WHISTLE!!!!" And I was so flustered for a moment, I hurriedly trotted Sunny in a messy circle because I was running out of time, and started my test. So not exactly the nice start I would have liked, but Sunny was being pretty good for the first bit of the test, we did our 10m circles, and our first leg yield. Then we went to medium trot across the diagonal and Sunny broke to canter. I was like "CRAP!" because usually with Sunny once things go to crap, they usually stay crap. But she surprised me and settled back down and went back to work. The canter work wasn't the greatest, the working canter was passable but she was tense and tight through her back, and when she's like that, the absolute slightest change in my balance blows our counter canter. So that was a bit frustrating, since we do a ton of it at home and she is so good. Our final medium trot across the diagonal was better, we didn't break to canter at least!
<p>I held my breathe as I waited for the online scores to be posted, I was like "Please be under 50, please be under 50...." because I was REALLY hoping for a qualifying score and I definitely was yelling and excited when they came up. 49.1!!!!!! HOLY CRAP THANK YOU LORD!!!!!!!! Talk about just skimming by:P Ugh. At least dressage is the easy thing in eventing to improve. Because if your horse just doesn't want to play on cross country, there's not much you can do about that:P You can ALWAYS improve the dressage.
<p>Went to watch the 3 star and 2 star dressage after and was sitting there watching all the 2 star horses thinking that I really need to get my shit together, because everything in that test is stuff I do at all home *all* the time, and Sunny does it pretty well *at home*. In the sandbox away from home it's a whole different story though:P And we need to find a way to work on that, a LOT.
<p>On Friday evening I walked my cross country one more time. The course overall looked fairly straightforward, which is usually the case when an event is offering the FEI levels as well, the regular divisions tend to be more towards the move up course side of things. The first water I felt was the only major question on course, our 8ABC combination. You jumped in over a canoe, landed in the water, up a little hill over a vertical, and then down the hill 4 strides to a sizeable brush corner, of course it was facing right, our nemesis all of last season. So I was honestly a little bit worried about that, but I knew that if I rode it correctly, we shouldn't have any problems, because Sunny was feeling great and we had schooled great and if I thought about things logically, we really had nothing to worry about, but of course our minds do not always think logically! Lol. I breathed a sigh of relief the last time I walked it, because in my silly little mind I had blown that little hill with the B jump on it up into some huge crazy steep thing, and when I looked at it in real life with was hardly a speed bump. So I had a bit of a laugh at myself about that, I was like "Seriously Jessica, GET A GRIP!" Lol.
<p>Cross country day was a bit interesting! Had a pretty good warm up, they had several different cross country jumps for us to warm up over which was very awesome! A few mins later they called for me to head down to the start box, so I went down and was just walking around waiting for them to count me down. The last jump was about 50 feet from the start box and the finish line passed directly behind it. The starter called out "30 seconds!" to me, and I had just turned Sunny and saw a horse and rider coming over the last jump towards the finish line. The horse and rider missed their distance, crashing into the jump as they went over, and on landing the horse somersaulted over onto the rider. Not exactly what you want to be seeing just moments before you leave the start box!!!!!!!
<p>So then the radios went wild and they were yelling to hold the horses on course and hold the start, because the horse had got up and appeared fine, but the rider was just laying there unconscious and not moving at all. Thank god they hadn't sent me out on course yet! The starter said I could go back and warm up more if I wanted and they'd give me lots of time to come back and start, but I said I was fine just walking around the start box, really just chilling and waiting around is the best thing for Sunny, patience is not really her strong suit, and she immediately goes to work, so I wasn't really concerned. So after a minute or 2 the rider started to move around and then she was able to get up and walk to a golf cart and they took her to the ambulance. The 2 horses currently on course had both gotten stopped at fence 12, so they let them finish before letting me start which was fine with me. The starter was a bit surprised that I didn't want to go back and warm up any more or jump one last fence before heading out. He was like "Did you want to go in a minute twenty five?" And I was like "I'm good whenever!" And he's like "Twenty five seconds?" And I was like "Works for me!!" He counted us down and off we went!
<p>After seeing that rider crash I was definitely VERY aware that I needed to keep Sunny more up in front of the jumps!! I made Sunny add a stride to fence 1 to make sure she was listening, and kept a more conservative pace through the first part of the course. Fence 2 and 3 rode fine, and then you looped through a few trees and around on a little downhill to fence 4, and Sunny was totally ignoring me asking her to come back so we had a few moments of BITCH LISTEN as we approached it, lol. The bank 5ABC combination rode well, had a slight left drift through it but Sunny is dead honest and jumped the C element fine. Coming up to 6AB, a trakehner to a narrow jump on a bit of a bending line, it was one of those instances where I literally saw nothing for a distance, so I just sat there and let Sunny do her thing. She took off long to A and I got tipped a bit forward up her neck, but sat back and she hopped over the skinny no problem. 7 rode fine, and then it was onto the water!! Not wanting to make the same mistake as at Copper, I balanced her a bit but let her keep coming forward, knowing she would slow down and balance herself when she saw the water. Jumped in fine, cantered through the water and up the hill and I was already looking for the corner as we left the ground over B. Sunny was right with me and had already locked onto it, 4 perfect strides and she flew over it. I was absolutely over the moon and started yelling like a crazy person and heard Jenn cheering for me as well, I was like "Let's go!!!" and Sunny sped up about 5 more gears and I let her just run. We had a long gallop to 9, which, of course, she protested a bit about coming back for, and then rode beautifully through the coffin and over 11. Had a bit of a gallop to 12, and should've balanced her up a bit more because it was definitely an awkward jump:P 13AB was an angled combination with strategically places trees and with B set up on a little hill, it walked in a conservative 3 or a forward 2. We nailed the 2 and had a long gallop to 14, which Sunny jumped great. 15 was a log up on the top of a hill, which Sunny jumped perfectly, and then we went down the hill through the water, and 16 was a very tiny skinny log just coming out of the water, which I don't think Sunny even noticed until the last second, because we had a horribly awkward flail over it. 17 and 18 were straightforward boxes that rode well, but I definitely could have helped Sunny balance a little better over them, but they weren't anything anyone else probably would have noticed from watching me, that's just me being nitpicky!
<p>Crossed the finish line with a quick glance at my watch and I was so freaking happy! THAT round was exactly what I needed to know I had the old Sunny back 100%!! The Sunny who absolutely ROCKED around prelim the first year we moved up, not last year's little niggling issues. Passed James Atkinson on the way back to the barn and he goes "Good round I hope?" and I replied "It was SO awesome!!!" Lol.
<p>I think Jenn took some pretty awesome photos for only getting like a 2 minute crash course on how to work my camera!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7641.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7641.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7641.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7647.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7647.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7647.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7648.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7648.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7648.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7654.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7654.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7654.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7656.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7656.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7656.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7660.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7660.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7660.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7669.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7669.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7669.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7672.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7672.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7672.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7679.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7679.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7679.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7682.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7682.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7682.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7692.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7692.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7692.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7697.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7697.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7697.jpg"/></a>
<p>Helmet Cam
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7PyNn5um_tc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>By my watch I had come in at 5 mins 18 secs, and I actually didn't find out what optimum time was before I rode. Usually Jenn and I wheel or gps the course together to figure out our minute markers, but since she wasn't riding she had no reason to, and I was lazy and didn't bother to do it myself. So I figured I'd just concentrate on riding and having a clear round, instead of worrying about time, and just go as fast or slow as I felt I needed on course. Found out later optimum time was 5:34, so we'd quite easily made it, which I was pretty sure of right after my round because I'd had a couple of long stretches between fences to gallop, and Sunny's natural cruising speed is pretty quick anyways. We've never had a problem making time at prelim, hopefully time will come easy at Intermediate as well when we eventually get there. I think that's partly why at the lower levels, Sunny was super difficult. Because all of cross country at training level and lower was basically one huge fight to keep her at a reasonable pace. She's still a bit like driving a car with the gas pedal stuck to the floor sometimes! Got her back to the stall, cooled her down, hosed her off and iced her legs.
<p>Afterwards Jenn and I headed out to the cross country course to watch the intermediate, advanced, and 2* and 3* divisions go in the afternoon.
<p>Got some wicked lunch at one of the food trucks that was there, that's one thing we thought of later, we should have took a few of our free days to go track down some of the food trucks in San Diego, because I know they have some amazing ones! Next time;) Anyways, our lunch on Saturday was Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese from the Two For The Road food truck. Holy cow it was RIDICULOUS good!!!!!!!! My first official food truck experience definitely gets 5 stars, haha.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6982.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6982.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6982.jpg"/></a>
<p>Jenn and I wandered around a bit, the course was so spread out and there was lots of interesting questions, so we definitely wanted to see as much of it as we could. We'd go to one section, watch some riders, move on down to the next section, watch some more, so on and so forth. Was very interesting see all the different horses, different galloping/jumping styles, different riding styles.
<p>Sunday we were up early because my division was the first to go in the morning. A new part of my stadium strategy was a bit of a different warm up. Typically I wouldn't do much of a warm up, 15-20 mins tops, and maybe jump 5 fences. Sunny knows her job so I don't need to jump her legs off. Getting her focused and rideable has been the real challenge though, so doing a more comprehensive warm up on the flat, with lots of transitions, lateral work, and lengthening and shortening helped a lot with this. Sunny also gets pretty excited when she knows she's going to be jumping, so lots of focus on bend and really having her always moving into my outside rein was very important as well to keep her with me on course, instead of running off or cutting the corners before or after the jumps, with her thinking she knows where she's going. She's allowed to be hot and excited, but we needed to make that clear difference between the crazy ignore your rider type of hot and excited, and the hot and excited that is still focused on the rider and the task at hand.
<p>The stadium course looked super fun! It was the same one as the FEI levels jumper the day before. It was fairly straightforward as far as course design, but there was lots of options for different lines to take and inside or outside turns, which I was really excited about, as that is something that is so totally foreign to us Alberta eventers! The time for the stadium at Galway was set just a little bit tight, so if someone needed to take more time and rode all the outside lines to have a conservative ride on their young horse, they would have a good round, and some time faults. If someone rode a little more forward, took some chances with a couple of the inside turns, they would have a good round as well, and probably not get time. I was a little bit surprised to see such a stark contrast between our Alberta stadium courses and the ones in California. No matter which way you chose to ride it, Galway's stadium was setting you up for success, to have a good positive round. Nothing funky or malicious to trick the horse or rider or catch them off guard. I didn't walk the stadium course at Copper because I didn't end up riding it, but thinking back there were several options and it seemed to ride fairly well as well. I liked that the courses in California were designed to build confidence and be sort of a stepping stone for horse and rider. But here prelim is the be all end all, so I think maybe we get a bit of the attitude that this is the highest level so it really should be a difficult test for everyone. Was very interesting to see the difference in the courses for sure.
<p>Anyways, we had a decent stadium warm up and I felt Sunny was being pretty good. With Sunny I don't usually set an actual game plan for when I go in the ring, because she's so darn inconsistent 99% of the time. Sometimes she warms up great and then is a freak in the ring, sometimes she's basically unrideable in the warm up but magically grows a brain the moment we step in the ring. My current coach likes to joke that with Sunny I've had to learn how to ride about 5 different horses and have to able to "switch horses" at a moments notice, depending on what Sunny is like at that particular moment. Never a dull moment anyways! Basically I have to just go into the ring and ride whatever she gives me.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7819.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7819.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7819.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7822.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7822.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7822.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7829.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7829.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7829.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7833.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7833.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7833.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7847.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7847.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7847.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7851.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7851.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7851.jpg"/></a>
<p>Helmet Cam
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xrjK0aJA3i4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>I was pretty happy with our round overall! Sunny was very rideable and stayed with me through most of the course instead of taking over. I actually was able to take all the inside turns in the course, something I hadn't planned on doing when I walked it, but thought maybe I'd go for one or two later in the course if she was being good. But she felt great to 1 and 2 so I landed off 2 and asked for the inside turn to the left. I had seen a few riders the day before take the inside turn to the one stride combination, which was pretty tight, and while I didn't NEED to risk it, I thought I'd go for it anyways, because it's not often I'm riding the Sunny that is listening and CAN do the inside turns! Sunny was great, came right around, we had like 2 strides straight and she jumped it excellent! Did have 2 very minor rails, we had the second jump in the triple down, we got in a bit deep to the first element and she jumped it fine, but just rubbed the second out of the cups. And then fence 7 we had down, I didn't see the best distance and got in a bit deep to that too, and Sunny rubbed it as well. Nothing major, both time I feel like I could have maintained a better rhythm and balance on the approach and she maybe could have got herself out of the way a bit better, but hey, we weren't running away with ourselves or crashing through anything so I'll take it! I'd rather have 2 rails from 2 minor rubs in an otherwise great round, instead of a horrifying round that somehow leaves all the rails up. Definitely a big step in the right direction!!
<p>Finished up in 14th and got the qualifying score I wanted, so all in all a successful event!
<p>Professional photos link: https://www.capturedmomentphoto.com/cgi-bin/store/imageFolio.cgi?direct=EQUESTRIAN/Horse_Trials_Combined_Training/Galway_Downs_International_Horse_Trials/2014_March_28-30/Hard_Sun
<p>And I absolutely LOVE this photo but seriously why does that tree need to be in the way?? Argh:P
<p>https://www.capturedmomentphoto.com/cgi-bin/store/imageFolio.cgi?action=view&link=EQUESTRIAN/Horse_Trials_Combined_Training/Galway_Downs_International_Horse_Trials/2014_March_28-30/Hard_Sun&image=115_0502.jpg&img=&tt=&tfile=tn_115_0502.JPG
<p>Right after stadium me and Jenn packed up to hit the road and start the very long (sad!) journey back home. Decided to do it in 3 days instead of 2, because our 2 day trip down had been pretty brutal with crazy long days.
<p>We pulled out of Galway before noon and headed to Vegas. Got the horses settled in at Horseman's Park in the late afternoon and then Jenn and I set out to do a little bit of exploring!
<p>Caught a little lizard in one of the stalls!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6995.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6995.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6995.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6997.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6997.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6997.jpg"/></a>
<p>Also made a small friend one evening at Copper :) I am one with the animals, haha.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6874.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6874.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6874.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6876.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6876.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6876.jpg"/></a>
<p>We wandered up and down Fremont Street for a while, which was very interesting. Nearly got run over when we didn't notice the crosswalk lights for pedestrians at the first street crossing, we just kept walking and a car swooshed past in front of us, and we stopped, and turned around to find more traffic behind us totally stuck right in the middle of the street with cars flying past on both side of us. Had a bit of a "AHHHHH WHAT DO WE DO????" moment, before running back to the original side of the road in a lull in traffic, but both us and the rest of the people waiting at the crosswalk found it pretty hilarious!
<p>There was definitely lots going on on Fremont Street, but there were so many beggars and buskers and things that were trying to get your attention, you wanted to look but it's like you couldn't look right at any of it or else you felt like you were obligated to give money, haha. Got rid of some of out spare change in the slots while we were there, since we had accumulated a whole bunch of it over the past few weeks. It was still daylight when we were at Fremont Street, saw the overhead light stuff which was kind of neat, but overall we found it a little bit odd. We would have liked to sit down to just people watch for a bit but there was literally nowhere to sit down, unless you went in a restaurant or casino. Definitely lots of awkward drunk people as well! Lol.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6999.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6999.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6999.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7001.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7001.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7001.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6998.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6998.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6998.jpg"/></a>
<p>Then we headed over to the Bellagio, it was just getting dark and I was driving through all the crazy buildings and lights and stuff which was neat. Trying to find a parking spot for the truck was kind of hilarious, but we got it done eventually! Walked through the Bellagio, saw the fancy ceiling and gardens and stuff, then wandered out to the fountains. It was dark by the time we got there, so we just found a spot and gawked at all the buildings and lights while we waited for the fountains. Once it got dark I liked Vegas a LOT more. There seemed to be a whole different energy once the sun went down.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7010.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7010.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7010.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7008.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7008.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7008.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7011.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7011.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7011.jpg"/></a>
<p>So the fountain show was AWESOME!!!!! And I'm so weird, most people I'm sure are just like "Oh how neat and beautiful, etc etc etc" and I'm just like "Holy crap, I need to know what the heck kind of pumps they have to shoot that water that high in the air!!!!!" It was absolutely amazing, sounded like gunshots. I've found a documentary on it that I need to watch. I need to know about the science!!!!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7017.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7017.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7017.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7021.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7021.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7021.jpg"/></a>
<p>We stayed to watch a second fountain show and then decided we'd better start heading back to the horses so we could get to bed a decent time as we were planning to be on the road again by 6am. There were several other things we would have liked to go see but we were only there for an evening so not a lot of free time! A few people had said that we absolutely HAD to eat at an In N Out though, so we stopped at one for a quick bite on our way back. And it was alright, very cheap which was right up our alley, but we couldn't really see what all the fuss was about. Found out later that they have a secret menu, which may have been helpful to know about beforehand, lol. So maybe we'll give it another try next time!
<p>Monday was a sad day, as I knew it definitely wouldn't be shorts weather when we arrived at our destination in Idaho!! We stopped for fuel just before Idaho Falls and there was snow on the ground so sadly I had to take off my sandals and put shoes on. When we got to the farm where the horses were staying for the night, the guy there was a big jolly guy, I get out of the truck and he just starts laughing at me going "Why the hell are you wearing shorts????" And I'm like "We just came from California and I'm in denial!!!!!"
<p>Sunny wonders why it is getting colder...
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7048.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7048.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7048.jpg"/></a>
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7051.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7051.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7051.jpg"/></a>
<p>The place was great though, had the stalls all bedded and water buckets filled for us, just had to unload the horses and throw some hay. We headed back to town to find a hotel, since it was going to be -15C that night, and the trailer was definitely not insulated so we could have absolutely froze. Found an awesome hotel that had free supper, 4 different kinds of awesome homemade soups, salad, garlic bread and breadsticks, and they had fresh homemade cookies right out of the oven! So we definitely ate as much as we could before heading to bed.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7053.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7053.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7053.jpg"/></a>
<p>In the morning there was frost and ice all over the truck when we left the hotel, and it was freaking cold! You really notice the cold a lot more going from hot to cold weather, vs being stuck in it year round pretty much! It sucked:P Loaded up and the rest of the drive mostly went off without a hitch, aside from the incredibly close call we had in Montana. Some drivers are crazy and must have a death wish. Ugh.
<p>First stop back in Canada? Gotta be Tim Hortons!!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_7062.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_7062.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7062.jpg"/></a>
<p>I definitely wasn't that happy to be back home. Overall was an amazing trip and I don't think I can make it happen to go back down this fall, but that just means I can save a bunch of money and go down for longer next spring. We'll see what happens. I feel like since I have a horse that is definitely game for more, I'd better take advantage of that while I can!!
<p>So we'll see what the future has in store for us! albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-83928191388840137812014-05-02T18:24:00.000-07:002014-05-02T18:24:34.144-07:00California Part Two!<p>When we first pulled in to Copper it was dark so from the road we could vaguely make out what we assumed was the cross country field. We had heard it was all packed into one field, and could definitely see lots of dark shapes which we assumed were jumps, but nothing could prepare us for the magnitude of seeing it in the daylight and what they actually had there. All of the cross country were in a smallish field, but holy cow there were so many jumps and such a variety, everything was gorgeous and in good repair and decorated beautifully. There wasn't much variation in the terrain but you bet they utilized fully every single bit of slope or hill they had! There were massive rocks jutting out of the landscape, all throughout the course, it was so cool. I was very impressed!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6783.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6783.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6783.jpg"/></a>
<!--Read More-->
<p>We scoped out our prelim course first thing Thursday morning and were SO EXCITED. Just one of those courses that you walked and were super excited to ride because it looked like SO MUCH FUN!! Lots of different questions and combinations and lines, definitely not a boring course by any means! Not unusually challenging or too technical for the level either, it looked like it was a good solid prelim with lots of variety that asked all the important questions for the level.
<p>It was also my first time seeing REAL intermediate and advanced jumps in real life, and for some reason I had pictured all these massive impossible jumps and tricky lines, and I walked around looking at a lot of the stuff going "I could totally do this!!" Which is a very very cool feeling! A big realization I had down there is that the upper levels are definitely not out of reach!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6465.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6465.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6465.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6410.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6410.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6410.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6411.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6411.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6411.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6412.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6412.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6412.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6413.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6413.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6413.jpg"/></a>
<p>We figured we would be ahead of the game and ride before the place got crazy busy, so Jenn and I hopped on and had a dressage school, they had the dressage rings open to ride in all day Thursday, which was very cool because I literally never get to just ride in an actual dressage ring! Had quite a good ride so was very happy with that. By the time we were done riding and had put the horses away it was all of 10:30am, perks of rising with the sun! So we headed into town, grabbed some Starbucks and picked up some groceries. We headed back and walked our course again as well as the intermediate course, then cleaned tack and braided for dressage in the morning!
<p>The cooler jump!! Which was our 9B:) It was well stocked and was a very popular stop for everyone all weekend!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6431.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6431.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6431.jpg"/></a>
<p>I lucked our big time with my ride times being all in the mornings, as we checked out the forecast and it was supposed to be in the 30's (90F) all weekend! So definitely HOT HOT HOT for us poor Canadians coming from -25!!!
<p>My dressage warm up started out ok, but the warm up ring was an absolute ZOO, and people were forever cutting you off or circling in front of you, or piling up in the corners causing you to slam on the brakes suddenly. You could hardly make a small circle by yourself without someone wandering in and forcing you to suddenly reroute. Needless to say it was not the most relaxing warm up and Sunny wasn't a fan. She kept getting more and more keyed up and finally I just let her walk around on a loose rein until we were called up for our test, figuring we'd just do what we could when we went in the ring.
<p>Poor Sunny was so tense, and unlike a lot of horses that can manage to hold it together and work through things, she definitely just explodes. So she was fussy, crooked, and flailing her head about, and was breaking to the canter every 5 seconds. Most of the test alternated between, walking, cantering on the spot, or jigging. I had been a bit nervous about having to sit my test, but really, worrying about sitting the trot was really the least of my worries when I was in the ring!! I just did my best to stay quiet and ride her tantrums out and complete what we could of the movements as best we could without making things any worse than they already were. So our test was pretty much a disaster. But that's just how it goes sometimes, and we all know that's part of the package with Sunny!! Came out of the ring and went straight back into the warm up ring. Worked her for a bit longer until she did manage to calm down and relax a tiny bit, and then I made her stand in the far corner of the ring until she relaxed a bit more, before heading back to the stalls.
<p>Not surprisingly, we had blown any hopes of a qualifying score at Copper with a pretty horrendous 56.8 (43.2%). But life goes on, you can only ride the horse you have under you that day. I picked up my test later expecting some passive aggressive comments from the judges about how I was horribly under prepared for this test or shouldn't be competing at this level (can you tell I've gotten some pretty horrendous feedback in the past? :P), but I was both relieved and surprised to find some very encouraging comments, including "Cute horse with lots of potential, but test today marred by unfortunate tenseness." Very refreshing for a judge to realize they were only seeing a small snippet in time, and what they saw in the ring may not necessarily be an example of the entire picture.
<p>Jenn did her dressage in the afternoon on Friday, and it wasn't her best test either. A number of others were having rough dressage days as well, it being the first outing for the majority of the horses, so there was lots of sympathy going around!
<p>The next morning we were up early to prep for cross country! Left enough time to head out to watch the Advanced and part of the Intermediate division, it was so cool finally being able to see that in real life! Very interesting to see all the different types of horses galloping around, the very efficient galloping machines vs the big moving uphill types!
<p>Jenn and I had been kind of excited because we figured at the events down in California, with there being so many prelim riders, and us being in different divisions, we should be far enough apart that we could actually watch each other's cross country rounds. In Alberta we almost always end up back to back just because there are so few prelim riders. Joke was on us because our xc times were less than 10 mins apart at Copper!
<p>Jenn headed out on course first, and had a fantastic run. Her boy Aloan is such an all star, just goes out and does his job, no fuss or excitement, and totally makes prelim look and feel like a casual hunter round. I wish Sunny could learn to channel a bit of that "get down to business" non silliness sometimes, haha. Jenn ended up clear with just a couple penalties for time, which she was very happy with.
<p>Sunny came out of the start box breathing fire! Bolting and wiggly and she blasted over the first jump from a long spot and immediately drifted way left which was the opposite direction of where we were supposed to be headed, and I was like "We are NOT having a crazy party!" Lol. Got her back on track, she jumped huge over jump 2, hitting me in the chest with her wither. Then she settled a bit after that, I made her add a stride to jump 3 which was a big wide table, just to make sure she was listening. 4 & 5 rode alright, although we drifted left again on the way to 5 and were coming at it on an angle, and our only option was a huge long spot. Then we had a long gallop to 6 and Sunny felt that our speed was far too leisurely for her speed demon self and started tanking and yanking her head down hard on the bit every 3 strides trying to pull the reins out of my hands, which is why I sound like a crazy person saying "Hey!" in the video so much.
<p>We did switch bits right before we came to California, she's now in a loose ring Waterford, which I actually really like, she can't just bear down and pull, but she still tries and it definitely frustrates her! Our rideability in general is always crap at the beginning of every season, but improves lots once we get going and do a couple events. No way to really speed things up with the weather and short summer we have up here unfortunately:P So will give this bit some time before deciding if I still want just a little more oomph.
<p>6AB was two fences on a right angle to each other that walked a nice conservative bending 3 stride, I lined Sunny up and we did the more direct forward 2. Then around to 7, a big open air oxer, and then I thought for sure she would take a little peek and back off a bit at 8, the Weldon's Wall, but she was not impressed at all and loped over it quite lazily with a big canter stride. 9AB, she blasted off a bit over B and the water was next so I wanted to make sure I got her back in time since she had been strong and forward through the first part of the course. She surprised me and came right back, and in hindsight I should've just rode forward again from there, but I did nothing and she geared down again as we entered the water to approach 10. As soon as we got in the water I realized I didn't have enough horse to actually jump the jump, so Sunny kind of just petered out. Damn. That was 100% my fault:P
<p>Circled around and approached again and she hopped over, and easily made the 4 strides to 11. Then we had a short gallop until 12 & 13 and Sunny started drifting left again thinking she knew better than me where we were going, but I got her sorted and over the next 2 nicely. Over 14, a table, and on to 15ABC, the second water. I definitely could have rode it better, we came in a bit too forward but Sunny jumped boldly over the trakehner into the water. I didn't help her out at all to B so we had a pretty awkward jump over it, which was a little vertical on a small mound, but I woke up and started riding on the way to C and had lovely jump out. 16, the pergola rode well. 17 was the coffin and Sunny was strong on the approach so we didn't come back as much as I'd wanted. It rode fine though, basically Sunny goes straight and sorts things out even when shit isn't perfect. 18AB was the only thing I had been a bit worried about, it was a big wide table set on a downhill, a bending line to a left facing corner. Again Sunny was strong over the table but I actually did what I was supposed to, gave a huge half halt and rode forward to the corner, which she jumped no problem, even though I was total overriding her and pulling her head to the right:P Felt bad immediately after because I just need to trust her like I used to, not be paranoid about the corners! Hopped over 19 and crossed the finish line. Jenn had waited with Aloan after she finished so she could see me go, perks of Copper is that you can stand almost anywhere and see pretty much the whole course!
<p>We ended up with 20 penalties for our stop and a mess of time as well, but overall I was ok with our round, it being the first of the year. Sunny definitely felt like her old self again, bold and forward and full of running. Rideability left a lot to be desired, but that will come. The stop was 100% my fault and I had just rode forward I have no doubt she would have jumped it no problem first time around. She was dead honest and held her line to everything though and didn't think twice about the corner.
<p>Helmet cam...
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gPq3Z-4JHjs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>Fences 12 & 13.
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid768.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fxx321%2Fsuperjess12%2Fsuperjess12001%2FIMG_6552.mp4&title="></embed>
<p>Link to the professional photos: https://www.capturedmomentphoto.com/cgi-bin/store/imageFolio.cgi?direct=EQUESTRIAN/Horse_Trials_Combined_Training/Copper_Meadows_%28Ramona,CA%29/2014/March_14-16/Hard_Sun_%2861%29
<p>Took the horses back to the stalls and they got a bath and liniment and we iced legs. Both Sunny and Aloan recovered fine, it wasn't too hot in the morning when we rode, thank god, and they both felt like they had plenty of gas on course so both Jenn and I breathed a big sigh of relief because fitness wise the horses came through great. That was a huge thing we had been worried about coming from Alberta winter down to immediately run prelim in California, getting them fit enough with only tiny indoor arenas available to us and the odd hack outside when the weather cooperated.
<p>Bought Equiflex sleeves for Sunny and they are great!!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6481.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6481.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6481.jpg"/></a>
<p>Spent the rest of the day wandering around and watching more cross country. It was so hot that weekend, I definitely burnt to a crisp immediately but coming straight from winter I couldn't get enough! Found myself a huge rock to perch on in the middle of the cross country field and watched the horses and riders go around, basking in the sun and warmth, reveling in the amazing atmosphere, and just the plain awesomeness of everything!! We hadn't even been in California for a week and I'd already decided that I never wanted to leave!
<p>That night was the dinner and party. It was catered, we had amazing Mexican food, and they had free drinks and live band. They really went all out for the event! Since there was quite a few Albertans down, we all found each other and had a fun evening, just hanging out and chatting.
<p>Sunday morning Jenn and I were both supposed to do stadium around 10:30am. We were up and 6 and went to take care of the horses and that's when the excitement started.
<p>I pulled Sunny out of her stall for her morning hand walk and graze, and could immediately tell something wasn't right. Just walking I could tell her front feet were ouchy, the right more than the left. I trotted her a few steps and she had a major head bob, so I knew it wasn't just stiffness or something she might work out of in the warm up, because Sunny is usually the iron horse and is hardly ever never stiff or sore. I had already blown my potential qualifying score with our crappy dressage, so there was no question in my mind, I withdrew from stadium. Her legs looked fine, aside from some fill on her right ankle. Which is not exactly alarming, ever since last fall's cross country crash, she's had windpuffs on that ankle, but me being paranoid I thought maybe it was something else. So I told myself not to panic, she had probably just bruised her hooves on the hard rocky ground, we'd give her the royal treatment and see how she was in a day or so. We were planning to give the horses a couple days off anyways after the event, so not the end of the world. She got iced and linimented and wrapped and lots of out of the stall time on Sunday to stretch her legs a bit and nibble some grass.
<p>Jenn pulled out a fantastic double clear stadium round and moved up to finish in 7th place. We spent the rest of the day pampering the horses and watching stadium and cross country.
<p>Monday felt very weird for us because we didn't have to do anything!! We'd been run run running and busy every day for the week we'd been in California so far, so we took care of the horses in the morning, went to Starbucks to use wifi, and then decided we'd take a drive and go exploring for a few hours!
<p>Our first stop was Mary's Tack in Del Mar, holy cow, what an amazing store!!! Definitely recommend stopping there to anyone who ends up in the area, it is very epic! So huge and they have an absolute amazing selection of everything. We just picked up a couple necessities, some Magic Cushion and vet wrap so I could pack Sunny's hooves to see if that helped any, as she had still been quite sore in the morning as well. Then we walked around the Del Mar Horse Park as it was right beside Mary's, and marvelled at the huge grass grand prix ring, all the different rings they had, and all the different trainers and lesson strings that operated out of that facility.
<p>Early morning walks/grazing with the ponies!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6681.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6681.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6681.jpg"/></a>
<div id="fb-root"></div> <script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script>
<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153909852280258" data-width="466"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153909852280258">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/superjess11">Jessica Kerschbaumer</a>.</div></div>
<p>We are going to jump this someday!!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6560.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6560.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6560.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6493.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6493.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6493.jpg"/></a>
<p>We drove over to the Del Mar racetrack, but it was still closed for the winter, so nothing interesting there. We realized we had ended up right by the beach so we found some parking, paid for an hour and went to check it out! We walked up and down the beach for a while, played with some random dogs (so many cute pitbulls, yay!), found some sea shells, and waded in a little bit. It was so beautiful, the waves were huge and the water was nowhere near as cold as I thought it was going to be!!! We hadn't planned on swimming or even going to the beach so we didn't come prepared, but we decided to come back the next day so we could check out a different spot, bring a towel and a change of clothes and swim!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6502.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6502.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6502.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6502.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6502.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6502.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6551.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6551.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6551.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6521.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6521.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6521.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6522.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6522.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6522.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6530.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6530.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6530.jpg"/></a>
<p>Tuesday morning, Sunny was still ouchy, and her ankle was still a bit puffy, so more icing and wraps and another day off for her.
<p>We headed back to Del Mar and went to Solana Beach for a couple hours. We wandered around and checked out some rocks and little tide pools. Then we kind of waded a bit, it wasn't the warmest day but we had kind of planned on going swimming. We probably spent a good hour out there, we went out as far as we felt was safe while still having lots of bottom to touch, and played in the huge waves and let the ocean slam us around a little, haha. The waves were pretty big that day, there were some surfers near us, and we could definitely feel how strong the undertow was, so we were careful to not get too far out or too far down the beach from where we started. It was incredible though, just being in the water and feeling the power of the ocean. I didn't want to get out!! Tweaked my knee a bit while in the ocean, I have the worst knees ever:P It felt ok at the time, but ended up being REALLY sore and stiff for 2 days, but then on the 3rd seemed pretty much back to normal. Which was perfect because I wasn't doing much riding anyways! We had an absolute blast in the ocean though!!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6564.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6564.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6564.jpg"/></a>
<p>The ocean brought this balloon to me. So random, lol.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6583.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6583.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6583.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6592a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6592a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6592a.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6605.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6605.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6605.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6626.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6626.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6626.jpg"/></a>
<p>Probably the best photo ever...
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6633.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6633.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6633.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6666.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6666.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6666.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6671.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6671.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6671.jpg"/></a>
<p>Wednesday we stuck around Ramona and checked out the tack and pet stores and did a little bit of local exploring. Sunny looked a little better so Jenn and I decided to get on a do a easy hack to just see how they felt. If anything I wanted to just sit on Sunny to see if I could tell if she was just ouchy "I've bruised my hooves" type sore, or ouchy "I've ruined a suspensory and my leg is going to fall off" sore:P
The horses seemed very happy to be out about about! We hacked around the cross country field. Sunny seemed fine walking on grass or dirt, but she was extremely tender on the hard packed driveway and the gravel. Trotting she still felt really sore though, she was still mostly on her front right.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6731.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6731.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6731.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6725.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6725.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6725.jpg"/></a>
<p>Caught the farrier out later that day, and he hoof tested Sunny. He definitely found some tenderness in her sole, but cut away a bit and didn't find any bruising. Said to keep packing her hooves and to let him know if I decided I wanted shoes or pads put on her, as he was out there almost every day anyways and would have no problem fitting me in.
<p>That night Jenn had the idea to go find some of those firm foamy floor puzzle pieces so we could duct tape them onto Sunny's front hooves to see if that made a difference before I potentially wasted a bunch of money putting shoes on if the bruising wasn't actually the problem. So we found what we needed at K-Mart and on Thursday that was my project!
<p>I was very happy to report that those silly foam pads definitely made Sunny very happy because she was WILD when I got on her! She was full of energy and silliness, bucking and bolting and spooking at nothing and carrying on like a big idiot, so I breathed a big sigh of relief! Rode her for a bit and then hacked for another good hour because I was going to need her to find a brain by Sunday, the combined training show!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6718.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6718.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6718.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6719.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6719.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6719.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6720.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6720.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6720.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6722.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6722.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6722.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6756.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6756.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6756.jpg"/></a>
<p>Thursday night we decided to splurge and rent a hotel room for the night so we could shower and have a good sleep in a decent bed! We had a relaxing night, I uploaded some photos and videos, then we ordered pizza for supper.
<p>On Friday, Sunny got front shoes and pads put on,
<p>The farrier puts Sunny to sleep...
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6802.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6802.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6802.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6774.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6774.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6774.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6777.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6777.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6777.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6778.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6778.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6778.jpg"/></a>
<p>Saturday we watched James Atkinson teach some lessons and I finally was able to have a good solid ride with Sunny. Had a good dressage school and then went for a long hack around the cross country field again.
<p>Sunday Jenn and I loaded Sunny up and headed a little ways out of town to the International Equestrian Centre, for their little combined training show. I had entered the training level combined test, which was the highest they offered, and was also doing an extra stadium round. I also arranged to do the prelim eventing test, just HC. I just wanted to get a bit more ring time in before heading down to Galway.
<p>For the dressage tests Jenn braided Sunny and I wore my show coat and everything to make it as REAL as possible for Sunny, haha. She was a rock star for the first test, the training one, nice and relaxed, and we put in a good effort for 64%! Had a bit of a break before our prelim test, which went alright. No explosions this time, just some minor tenseness and I felt like I couldn't sit the trot worth a crap in the ring, so 59% for that, which was fine.
<p>Jenn braiding Sunny.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6836.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6836.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6836.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6837.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6837.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6837.jpg"/></a>
<p>Jenn had offered me her jump saddle to ride in while we were down in California, even through it didn't really fit me properly since Jenn is an amazingly tall amazon, haha. I had been thinking that I should be maybe start looking at getting a new one, so we threw hers on and I warmed up and jumped the tiny X set for warm up and holy cow what a huge difference just over that little jump! My leg was able to stay right under me at the girth, instead of sliding around and throwing me off balance! Sunny was being quite good so I only jumped a few fences, then went in the ring. Went clear the first round for our combined test round, although Sunny was not really taking the little jumps seriously, she immediately woke up in the ring and was bombing around and was very strong but we worked it out. Our extra round was a little more relaxed, but we had one rail. Went to pick up my dressage tests after I'd sponged Sunny off and was surprised when the secretary handed me a blue ribbon for the training combined test! So that was kind of cool:)
<p>Warming Up...
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7081.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7081.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7081.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7087.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7087.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7087.jpg"/></a>
<p>Photos from my stadium rounds
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7090.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7090.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7090.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7111.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7111.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7111.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7119.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7119.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7119.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7155.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7155.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7155.jpg"/></a>
<p>Monday was my birthday!! Since Starbucks had somehow become our daily go-to in the mornings after we took care of the horses, my birthday was no different! Every single morning we sat outside at Starbucks, so even when it was 8am and chilly and raining, there I was in my shorts, we'd wipe off the chairs and sit on the patio! And sit there on our phones taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi, haha. I'm sure we looked like crazy people sitting out there not talking to each other for an hour every morning!
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/1511490_10152337316151882_592030031_n.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/1511490_10152337316151882_592030031_n.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1511490_10152337316151882_592030031_n.jpg"/></a>
<p>Managed to arrange a jump lesson with Taren that day as well! Sunny was surprisingly not that crazy, so we were able to get lots of good work in! Tried some different strategies to work with Sunny's exuberance and independence, and kind of letting her do her thing, then picking her up and putting her back together 3 or 4 strides before the fence really seemed to help. Did some fun angled lines, they had a 4 stride line in a combination that you were supposed to really compress and bend into a 5, and that was the one thing we just couldn't manage! Did just that line by itself at the end though, and got the 5! Coming back is hard for us, Sunny would rather just ride forward and leave one out, instead of actually sitting down and waiting and using herself, so that is a big thing we need to work on. Was lots of fun though, and Taren was great and very helpful! She said Sunny was a pretty cool horse:)
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7186.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7186.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7186.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7190.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7190.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7190.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7235.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7235.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7235.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7239.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7239.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7239.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7255.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7255.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7255.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/aDSC_7266.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/aDSC_7266.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo aDSC_7266.jpg"/></a>
<p>Jenn and I went out for supper for my birthday that night, I wanted sushi so we went to Da Tuna Shack, a little hole in the wall place right in Ramona, and it was AWESOME! I definitely recommend it!! Ate way too much food, we shared an amazing appy platter, and then I ordered a maki roll and sashimi, and Jenn got a non fishy maki roll and had a huge burger. Jenn took me out for ice cream later that night, I made an epic bowl at Cold Stone, cheesecake ice cream, cake batter ice cream, graham cracker crumbs, white chocolate chips, skor (heath) bar, and cookie dough, lol. It was so good! And I was so full I almost died, haha.
<p><a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6861.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6861.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6861.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6862.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6862.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6862.jpg"/></a>
<p>Stay tuned for the third and final installment! :)
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-35485271877588555162014-04-29T18:57:00.000-07:002014-04-29T18:57:40.836-07:00California Part One!<p>I'm finally posting about my California trip! The whole recap is crazy long, so I am breaking it up into slightly more manageable parts for myself!
<p>Where to even start? The trip was awesome overall, I LOVE California, I definitely didn't want to leave, and I want to go back asap!! Sun and sand and SO much horse stuff...paradise!! Was it successful in terms of what I wanted to accomplish? Well, not so much, and so much of it was kind of a shitshow with the horses and vet stuff and things just not going as planned. Such a HUGE learning experience though, and lots of ups and downs for sure. But I absolutely loved it down there, and am SO glad I went!
<!--Read More-->
<p>I will also be making a separate post for "Things you need to know before you go to California" because even though I did research and talked to lots of people, we were not that prepared in a lot of ways, and really, nothing beats actual first hand experience. And there is all sorts of stuff that you would never even think of. Also will include info on exactly how much it cost us because I have lots of people curious and yes, it's expensive, but if you plan and are smart about it it's not really this huge impossible thing that a lot of people make it out to be, and we did keep track of everything while we were down there so we will know what to expect and what we could do better/differently for next time.
<p>Our trip down was a bit crazy, doing it in just 2 days was *really* long and *really* shitty!! 18 hours of driving the first day, and 14 the second. It didn't help that both me and Jenn were running on like 6 hours of sleep the entire weekend either! Kris hauled me and Sunny down to Jenn's barn near Calgary on Mar 7, that Friday after work. We didn't get there until about 8pm, and then spent a couple hours packing a loading the trailer. Didn't get to bed till nearly midnight, and we were up at 3am to leave by 4am!
<p>Loaded and ready to go!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6214.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6214.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6214.jpg" /></a>
<p>Sunny and Aloan at a fuel stop wondering where they heck they are headed!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6231.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6231.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6231.jpg" /></a>
<p>Road bump #2 came pretty quick! While we were stopped and waiting for the vet, we noticed the trailer was sitting pretty low in the front. Since we were just borrowing it, Jenn has picked it up ahead of time and taken it in to a place in Calgary to get the gooseneck hitch adjusted so it would ride level once loaded up. Apparently the guys there hadn't raised it up enough, and the way it was sitting had the rear trucks tires bulging at the bottom. So we knew we had to get that adjusted asap, because we didn't want to be blowing a tire or something, especially not in the middle of nowhere in Montana while hauling horses!! We asked the USDA vet about places to go because he lived in the area, and he was incredibly nice and pulled out the phone book and started calling around for us. There were just tiny towns until the next actual city, Great Falls, and none of them were open on a Saturday. So we ended up having to drive the hour and a bit to Great Falls and then we drove around stopping at random truck and rv places until we finally found a tire place that could help us. All we needed was a big wrench and a hammer, really if we had known we could have packed the stuff and did it ourselves because it was very simple. So the guys at the tire place adjusted it for us and didn't charge us anything, so I made a facebook post and tagged the place in it thanking them, and after a good hour and a bit wasted, we continued on our way!
<p>Road bump #2 came pretty quick! While we were stopped and waiting for the vet, we noticed the trailer was sitting pretty low in the front. Since we were just borrowing it, Jenn has picked it up ahead of time and taken it in to a place in Calgary to get the gooseneck hitch adjusted so it would ride level once loaded up. Apparently the guys there hadn't raised it up enough, and the way it was sitting had the rear trucks tires bulging at the bottom. So we knew we had to get that adjusted asap, because we didn't want to be blowing a tire or something, especially not in the middle of buttfuck nowhere in Montana while hauling horses!! We asked the USDA vet about places to go because he lived in the area, and he was incredibly nice and pulled out the phone book and started calling around for us. There were just tiny towns until the next actual city, Great Falls, and none of them were open on a Saturday. So we ended up having to drive the hour and a bit to Great Falls and then we drove around stopping at random truck and rv places until we finally found a tire place that could help us. All we needed was a big wrench and a hammer, really if we had known we could have packed the shit and did it ourselves because it was very simple, but you'd think if you were paying someone to adjust the hitch you would assume they would do it properly the first time, haha. So the guys at the tire place adjusted it for us and didn't charge us anything, so I made a facebook post and tagged the place in it thanking them, and after a good hour and a bit wasted, we continued on our way.
<p>The horses trailered extremely well, surprisingly, as neither of them have ever made a long multi day trip like this! Sunny doesn't drink in the trailer, I've hauled her 12+ hour hauls before and she won't touch a bucket. So we came prepared, I had been preloading electrolytes the week before we left, and whenever we stopped we watered down pellets and bran so they'd at least eat a bit and get SOME liquids along the way. Jenn's horse Aloan figured out the drinking thing partway through the first day, but it wasn't until we hit Nevada on day 2 and it actually got warm out that Sunny finally gave in and drank, and then was good about drinking the rest of the way.
<p>Snack stop!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6242.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6242.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6242.jpg" /></a>
<p>We planned to overnight in Draper, Utah, on the south end of Salt Lake City, and by the time we were getting close Jenn and I had started to get a bit delirious from so much driving and the lack of sleep, and driving through the city, we were getting to the point where the things we were seeing were WAAAAAY funnier than they should have been! Like Dick's Sporting Goods, yup, that's pretty darn hilarious! Lol. Around 10pm, we finally arrived and met my friend Leah at her barn and we got the horses settled for the night. We were pretty worried about the horses, already having spent 18 hours on the road, and knowing we had another LONG day ahead of us on Sunday. Thank god for the round pen! The horses got to stay the night in a big paddock/round pen at Leah's barn, which I'm sure made all the difference!! Sunny looked ok coming off the trailer, but she's little and had lots of room in her stall. But Aloan is 17.1hh and looked pretty wretched getting off the trailer!! So we turned them out and the horses were SOOOOO happy to be able to stretch their legs, they were bucking and playing and they usually don't do that!
<p>We stopped at a grocery store so we could grab a quick bite, then headed to Leah's house. We ate and chatted for a bit before finally getting to bed very late. With daylight savings time happening we lost an hour of sleep that night, we were up and back on the road around around 6am, so it was another very short night! Lol. Sunny and Aloan both gave us a bit of the hairy eyeball when we went to load them back up in the morning, you could just see they were like "HAHAHAHA ARE YOU KIDDING??" but they got on the trailer without too much prodding and we continued on our way!
<p>Jenn and I were excitedly watching the digital truck thermometer the whole time that morning, watching the temperature slowly rise but having very little idea what the Fahrenheit translated to in actual warmness, haha. We were like "Yes! We've hit forty!! Is it shorts weather yet??" Lol. I was so excited to see the first palm tree, and definitely had a "OHMYGOD A PALM TREE!!!!!!!!!" :D:D:D:D:D:D freakout in the truck when I saw the first one in Arizona, haha. Arizona was GORGEOUS btw, the very small part we drove through, one of my favorite parts of the trip! We hit Mesquite Nevada and it was sunny and gorgeous and warm and definitely shorts weather! HELLO SUMMER!!!! I was SO happy!!!
<p>Palm trees in Mesquite, Nevada!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6253.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6253.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6253.jpg" /></a>
<p>WE MADE IT!!!!!!!! :D
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6259.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6259.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6259.jpg" /></a>
<p>The rest of the drive on day 2 went well. By the time we entered California it was 80 F and the horses were definitely drinking lots of water and probably horribly confused and wondering how the heck they had gone from -25 to a hot (for us!) summer weather in the past day!! The last 4 hours were probably the worst, we were just like "Please can we just get there already??" We started seeing all the vineyards and fruit trees as we got closer, it was very cool! Everything here was so new and different!
<p>Our first destination was Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles so we could hang out and school cross country for a couple days before heading down to our first event. We pulled in around 8pm and the sun had already gone down so we couldn't really see anything but we took the horses for a walk and found a couple cross country fences in the dark! Got the horses settled in for the night, grabbed some food in town, and then headed out to find my friend Hannah's place, who had graciously offered to put us up for the couple days we were there!
<p>Jenn and I were SO excited to finally be able to get a decent night's sleep and not have to wake up super early after all that driving!! In the morning we got up, met Hannah's horse Sol, and got to see the area in the daylight! What a gorgeous place!! We headed out to Twin to take care of the horses, and Hannah came with us. She showed us around the farm, they have such a beautiful facility! We took the horses for a walk and checked out some of the cross country jumps, and the horses got to eat some grass and have a good roll:) Aside from looking a bit gaunt the first day, being a bit dehydrated from the trip, they came through the trip extremely well. We put the horses away and did a bit more wandering on the course. After a couple hours at Twin we headed into town and Hannah showed us around a bit! Got some groceries, and checked out the tack stores in town. Headed back to Twin later on and Jenn and I hopped on for a little hack to let the horses stretch their legs and to see how they felt. Hannah snapped some photos while we rode, gorgeous photos will the hills and vineyards in the background! Finished the ride by going for a little canter around the front cross country field, one of the things I had been so excited to do was to just take Sunny out and let her canter and just stretch her muscles IN A STRAIGHT LINE! Not in a tiny indoor where she's constantly turning, or in her paddock with crappy, uneven icy footing. Winters up here are REALLY hard on horses, it sucks:P
<p>Finally at Twin, enjoying some grass and looking a little dehydrated still.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6280.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6280.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6280.jpg" /></a>
<p>One of the water complexes, so gorgeous!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6283.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6283.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6283.jpg" /></a>
<p>First ride in California!!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6297.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6297.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6297.jpg" /></a>
<p>Thanks to Hannah for taking these beautiful photos!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/10265430_10152380500646882_5298029137375493452_o.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/10265430_10152380500646882_5298029137375493452_o.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 10265430_10152380500646882_5298029137375493452_o.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/10265510_10152380477836882_5156055140263278632_o.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/10265510_10152380477836882_5156055140263278632_o.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 10265510_10152380477836882_5156055140263278632_o.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/1980129_10152380501461882_3787646596695125968_o.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/1980129_10152380501461882_3787646596695125968_o.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1980129_10152380501461882_3787646596695125968_o.jpg" /></a>
<p>Tuesday morning Hannah trailered Sol out to Twin and we all saddled up to ride together. Jenn and I did a little bit of cross country schooling, just some training and prelim stuff to ease the horses back into things. Aloan came out as his usual workmanlike self, but Sunny knew what we were there for that day and was WILD for the first bit. Lol. Once we got going she calmed down though. Had a silly moment early in our ride where I went to pop over a ditch before doing the prelim coffin line, and for some stupid reason instead of sitting back I just kind of 2 pointed up to it and basically just sat there and Sunny propped a bit when she saw the ditch which was on a little downhill slope, and because I was in a totally useless position up there I totally spun off over her shoulder and landed on my feet holding the reins, and I was so mad at myself, I was yelling at myself in my head going "WTF JESSICA, what are you doing?! Sit the hell back and put your god damn leg on and RIDE!!!" So I got back on and actually rode like I was supposed to, and Sunny was great. Other than that, both Sunny and Aloan came out and jumped around great, did some banks, water lines and the intermediate goose, no big deal, haha. I kept expecting Sunny to drift left over everything like she did all of last year, and doing the goose which was a skinny, the head was on our right, and I aimed her to the right of it, expecting her left drift to take us over the middle of it. Well Sunny surprised me and stayed dead straight and was like "I will jump RIGHT beside that damn goose head, because that's where you aimed me!!" Lol. Realized it a few days later that our last cross country before that had been last fall at our final event in September, where Sunny misjudged fence 3 on cross country and crashed into it, and almost wore it as a hat. So I was pretty darn impressed with her coming out cold and jumping around everything no problem like a freaking rock star. You know you have a good horse when...!!
<p>After that we loaded the horses up and headed down to Morro Bay to go riding on the beach!! Things that you might not realize: The beach is a SCARY place for horses that have never seem anything like it before! Now that I've gone once I know what I would do differently for next time! Especially with a horse that had never seen the ocean before.
<p>Apparently the waves were pretty big that day, and it wasn't the actual water that was the problem, but the horses find the white foam that rolls in with the waves pretty darn horrifying!! So we had a good bit of bolting, backing at light speed and spinning, and at one point Sunny tripped over her own feet and went over backwards into the shallow water, tossing me off in the process. SO. Changed our strategy a bit after that, putting their bitt to the waves and letting them work their shit out works MUCH better than making them face it head on!
<p>Walked up and down the beach for a bit and went for a couple gallops, it was lots of fun! Finished off the exciting beach ride with some hacking around, then loaded up the horses and said goodbye to Hannah as she was heading home and back to work the next day and we were going to be heading down to Copper Meadows in the morning. We told her we would definitely be back!!
<p>Beach pics!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6331.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6331.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6331.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6336.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6336.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6336.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6376.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6376.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6376.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6379a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6379a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6379a.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6380a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6380a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6380a.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6383.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6383.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6383.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6381.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6381.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6381.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6374.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6374.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6374.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/1922250_10152676974343012_1436025514_n.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/1922250_10152676974343012_1436025514_n.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1922250_10152676974343012_1436025514_n.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/1013861_10152676974348012_1344812222_n.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/1013861_10152676974348012_1344812222_n.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1013861_10152676974348012_1344812222_n.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/1618430_10152676974338012_1078162133_n.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/1618430_10152676974338012_1078162133_n.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1618430_10152676974338012_1078162133_n.jpg" /></a>
<p>Some helmet came clips from down at the beach...
<lj-embed id="1023">
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cdg6E8dEbE8?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
</lj-embed>
<p>Later that day I could already feel the soreness from my tumble on the hard wet sand/shallow water setting in, and the next morning I woke up in the trailer and was just WRECKED, holy crap, it was so brutal!! I have not been that sore in a long time! And I still bounce pretty good for 30 too, I must mention!
<p>We were planning on schooling a bit more cross country first thing the next morning and then packing up and heading down to Copper Meadows. I got on with a few things in mind that I definitely wanted to make sure were not issues anymore (right facing corners!) that we didn't address when we were schooling the day before. I also knew I needed to take it REAL easy, because I had popped some advil but still felt extremely sore and stiff and knew my riding would be nowhere near what I am normally capable of, and I definitely couldn't afford come off AGAIN. On a normal day I wouldn't have even tried riding the way I felt, but we only had 2 days to school before the event at Copper so it's not like I had much of a choice!
<p>I was an absolute mess for our schooling:P Was pretty conservative during our ride, popped a couple of training fences to start, went through the one water, then we headed over to the coffin complex. Had one messy pass where I saw the long to the ditch and "went" but Sunny added a stride, which is exactly the right thing for her to do and what we have been working so hard on! I was unseated and ate shit right up to her ears and we were lined up to the chevron a couple strides after, and usually Sunny just goes regardless, but maybe she could tell that I was pretty much coming off if we continued and she just kind of stopped in front of it and I got back in the saddle, feeling pretty embarrassed with myself:P Did the second time around but it wasn't real pretty. Sunny was being really good and trying hard for me even though I was riding like shit so I didn't want to make an issue where there wasn't one, because it was definitely me that was the problem, not her! Then we headed over to the bank complex where the prelim corner was, and I planned on just figure eighting over it a couple times. Well apparently I had some major overthinking/over-riding going on because of our corner "issues" last summer, on the first approach I picked so much on the way up to I never actually let her leave the ground. Second time around she launched it and jumped me right out of the tack, but for all the times she's jumped me off, she's never done anything but continue on in a straight line as I landed in a heap on top of her, and this time was no different. Sunny totally saved my butt again. Came around it one more time and she jumped it decently, so that was good for that. Headed up to the front water, did the prelim angled combo, one simple water line, galloped over to a prelim open oxer and jumped it, and then called it a day. Definitely wasn't happy at all with how I rode but Sunny took care of me and did everything I asked so I really couldn't have asked for more in that situation.
<p>Some helmet cams from schooling...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Zd1ND3yn_y4?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p>We packed up and were on the road to Copper Meadows by 10:30, which we figured would give us plenty of time to get there in the daylight, get the horses settled, and maybe go for a hack later. Google maps said it would be about 5 1/2 hours down, and had us going right through LA, which Jenn and I both questioned having heard about "crazy LA traffic", but we asked a couple people about it and the general consensus was that it's fine as long as you avoid rush hour. Of course since nothing can go smoothly for us, google maps got us lost in LA, so we ended being stuck in there through rush hour, so that was a ton of fun. Next time we are definitely going AROUND LA!
It was me driving through the worst of it, which was fine because I don't panic and can just sort of go with the flow no matter what. It was very exciting though, poor Jenn was having a heart attack in the passenger seat, and I was mildly amused by all the insanity I was being a part of. It wasn't the amount of traffic, although I can see why it would be intimidating to some! It was the crazy ass drivers! No one uses signal lights, if there is any space at all in front of you, people just head right on over and expect you to move, very narrowly cutting you off. People merging in don't signal or try to time it so they, they just drive on over into your lane, doesn't matter if there is room or if you are in that lane already and do not have room to move out of the way. There's these truck exits that route the big trucks around the overpasses instead of over, then immediately merge them back on, so you've got big trucks trying to come merge back in every 5 seconds. People don't know where they're supposed to be exiting, so they'll slam on their brakes randomly or cut across 4 lanes of traffic. It was just insanity, especially paired with the insane volume of cars on the road. I felt REALLY bad for the horses because they had quite the rough ride that day! We made it to Escondido and needed gas, and I was so done with driving by that point, the one gas station we stopped at was NOT made for trucks, and to get in there I had to block the entire one entry of the parking lot for 10 minutes while waiting to get to a pump, and everyone was giving me death glares and I thought maybe I was going to get shot, haha. But we got in and out eventually, it was Jenn's turn to drive, everything worked out ok, and it was only another quiet hour of driving on a rural road to get to Copper Meadows from there.
<p>I decided somewhere along the way that day that I have NOTHING to EVER complain about with Alberta traffic!! Lol.
<p>We see a lot of pumpjacks up in Canada, but not hundreds and hundreds of them so close together in one place!! This was near Paso Robles.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/superjess12001/IMG_6389.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/superjess12001/IMG_6389.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6389.jpg" /></a>
<p>It was already dark by the time we arrived, and we were tired and wanting to get the horses off the trailer ASAP and the place looked huge and we had no idea where we were stabled, so we pull up to this one gate and Jenn goes to get out to check the big stabling board by the fence, and this guy runs up wearing a staff shirt and Jenn goes "Hi! We're just looking to see where we are stabled..." and the guys goes "Whoa whoa whoa!!! First things first!!" And me and Jenn are a bit taken aback and are like ??? and he rattles off "Red wine, white wine, beer, cooler, coke, pepsi or sprite?" And we're just kind of sitting there confused, and he goes "First thing first! We get you guys a drink! Then we find your stabling!" And then we notice he's got coolers sitting there and we finally clue in and start laughing and I just ask for a water and Jenn gets a pop, and then he found where we were supposed to go and told us where trailer parking was. So that was awesome, we got the horses unloaded and settled in and parked the trailer and then took the horses for a late night hand walk and graze, before running into a couple other Albertans and then we headed to bed.
<p>To be continued!!! ;)albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-75600432395324169352014-04-02T09:14:00.000-07:002014-04-02T09:14:10.646-07:00Missing California Already...<p>Jenn and I just arrived back in Alberta last night, and I have so much to do and catch up on but will be making an epic blog post about my entire trip very soon! In short, it was absolutely amazing!! Horses, as we all know, have their own agenda and different things in mind so while things definitely didn't go as planned, the experience was still so fun, incredible, inspiring and educational, and I CAN NOT WAIT to go back!
<p>Just wanted to share this quick video. That awkward moment when you appear on national television and have no idea!! This video is seriously the best thing ever, I laugh so hard at the commentary every time I watch it. Apparently it is still making the rounds on different stations, if anyone sees it, please let me know! :)
<p><iframe src="//www.rightthisminute.com/story/36417/video/embed" width="512" height="288" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>I am having a bit of a shock coming back to the cold and snow of Alberta from sunny CA! Can spring please come soon??
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-12004085874600153162014-02-21T14:21:00.000-08:002014-02-21T14:21:32.673-08:00T - 2 Weeks Until Sun, Sand and Eventing!!Holy cow, 2 weeks until Jenn and I leave for California!!!!
<p>On one hand this winter has positively flown and I can't believe we leave so soon, and on the other hand I can not wait to just get down there!! Everyone keeps saying "Oh, you must be so excited!!", and I partly am, but right now I am mostly stressing about everything we need to get done before we leave! I think once we actually get on the road I will start to be genuinely excited, but even still it hasn't *really* sank in yet that I'm ACTUALLY GOING TO CALIFORNIA. I *know* I'm going, but I haven't really *REALIZED* that I'm going. I have honestly never been anywhere. I've done a 12 hour road trip to Winnipeg once, and I did do a 6 week working student stint in Ontario 10 years ago, but other than that I've been pretty sheltered travel wise!! I'm scared that I'm going to get down there and just not want to come home. I LOVE Canada, don't get me wrong, but I'll be completely honest, I'd trade our 8 months of crappy winter for someplace warmer and a longer eventing season in a heartbeat!
<p>I'm most worried about packing the trailer. Fitting as much horse feed as we can will be interesting, we're going to take as much as we possibly can. I need to start making lists of everything so we don't forget or overlook anything! Horse stuff, show stuff, our stuff, camping stuff, ugh. And it wouldn't be so bad but we're borrowing a trailer, so we don't have the luxury of being able to pack much in advance. We are actually leaving from Jenn's place which is 2 hours south of me, so I am planning on making a trip down next weekend with some stuff, so I'm not in a mad rush with everything packed to the brim heading down there on March 7th, after work, to pack the trailer and leave super early on the 8th!
<p>I still need to make an appointment for Sunny's vet stuff, I will do that next week. I was putting it off in the hopes that my fei passport would come so I could kill 2 birds with one stone and get her first flu vaccination done at the same time, but we're inside the 2 week window so I can't do any vaccinations now anyways.
<p>Gosh what else? There's lots of just regular life stuff I need to take care of before I go too, work and bills and things like that. I need to switch my cell phone plan so it doesn't cost me a million dollars when I'm down there too! Haha. And I'm riding tons and busting my butt at the barn in the hopes that we will be ready!!
<p>Back in January our high performance team coach, Lynda Ramsay, came up and we had a clinic one weekend. I was very fortunate to have her come right to my barn for my lessons, and I chose to have 2 flat lessons, instead of a flat & a jumping lesson, as the dressage is definitely our weakest phase! Day 1 went well, Lynda noticed right away that I was kind of stuck at the third level of the training pyramid, contact & connection! So we did a lot of different exercises to work on that, me keeping the connection and getting Sunny steadier in the bridle. Lynda also manipulated my body position during, so I was able to get a clear feel where I was currently compared to where I need to be, and gave me some good tips to keep improving little by little. Day 2 was a bit rough, just one of those days where I felt a little all over the place. We worked some more on contact and connection, transitions both between and within the gaits, bending throughout the body (not just through the neck!), and creating and keeping more energy and being more forward in general, especially at the trot. Even though it wasn't the best ride ever I came away with a lot.
<p>It was my first time riding with Lynda, although I have watched her teach a few times before. She was absolutely fabulous, and very knowledgeable and offered a huge amount of help and information in a short amount of time. I made nearly a full page of notes after each ride! A few other things she suggested that I found really helpful were to think of leg yielding on a circle to achieve the bend and suppleness, and using the counter bend to my advantage. I have applied a lot of the things she talked about to my riding and I feel like she helped a lot. I am definitely excited to ride with her again in the spring!
<p>The weekend after the Lynda clinic, I decided to switch bits with Sunny, just to see. I have had her in a french link baucher for a good few years now. I REALLY liked how she went in it when I first tried it, and I even jumped her in it for several years before switching to a 2 ring happy mouth elevator for jumping. The baucher was great, but I had noticed lately that she had started becoming really heavy and lugging on the reins sometimes, and was just sort of inconsistent in the bridle in general. So I dug out a french link loose ring and threw it on not expecting much, and HOLY CRAP I got on a totally different horse that day!!! I honestly could NOT believe that something that simple could make that huge of a difference!! All of a sudden I had a horse that was chewing and salivating, she was light in my hands and so soft and supple and just THERE with me. I was absolutely SHOCKED. It was such a huge difference that for the next few rides I would have someone walk into the barn and immediately comment on how nice Sunny was going, or how happy she looked, without them knowing I had I changed anything! And I found myself accidentally riding for like an hour and a half a few times, I would totally zone out, we'd just be trotting around and she'd be on the bit and for once I just rode and enjoyed it, the softness and connection. So now I am kicking myself for not switching bits before the Lynda clinic, I'm sure we would have gotten a lot more accomplished! Hindsight is 20/20 though;)
<p>Funny how such a little change can make such a big difference! The new bit on the left, old bit on the right!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/5DF69ECE-F92E-4F68-8289-2210D00BA1AB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/5DF69ECE-F92E-4F68-8289-2210D00BA1AB.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>In the beginning of Feb we had a clinic at my barn, taught by dressage trainer Inge Sumanik from the Yukon. That was another great clinic that Sunny and I got a lot out of. She was very open to what I wanted to work on, so it ended up being a bit different from a regular clinic, which was good! I told her I wanted to work on lateral work, leg yield, shoulder in, and haunches in, and sitting the god damn trot! Lol. And on day 2 we worked on some specific movements from the dressage test I will be doing in California, and she gave me tips on how to get a better score, turn a 6 into a 7, things like that. We started with some leg yield and shoulder in, working on straightness and getting the proper track. Inge actually got on Sunny to show me where Sunny and I actually needed to be for haunches in, which was very cool and helpful to actually SEE from the ground what her and I were supposed to be doing. Haunches in is one thing I've been kind of struggling with, because I've never had the luxury of an actual schoolmaster to learn things on first. So it's me and Sunny fumbling our way through things, and me thinking "Well, I'm doing something that I'm pretty sure vaguely resembles some sort of haunches in" but not having any way to tell if it's what the dressage judges actually want to see!
<p>Inge also tweaked my position a bunch in the sitting trot, and I actually had a lightbulb moment about where my body needed to be to make sitting the trot way easier! Shoulder blades back and down, bellybutton forward, chest up, hands like I was carrying a tray, and somewhere in there it clicked! And since then my sitting trot has become WAY easier, now I actually feel like I am semi-presentable when I do it! She also encouraged me to "be friends with the bounce", because we're all going to bounce at times when we're sitting, we just have to ride through it and work it out, and that helped me a lot, as I'd usually just start posting or transition down when things got a little rough. But Inge told be that even the best dressage riders bounce and just know how to hide it, or they have little tricks so the judges don't notice, so that made me feel a lot better, and I've just started riding out the rough spots instead of avoiding them. At one point Inge said "Ok now change rein and lengthen across the diagonal, keep sitting!" and I started laughing and I was like "Oh god!! I might die!" And Inge laughed and she talked me through it. And I did it a few times, it wasn't pretty at all and I felt like the hugest sack of potatoes, and we all laughed, but you don't learn anything from just staying inside your safe little box!
<p>So things have been really good lately! Sunny is in great shape, she is currently going twice a week on the most difficult treadmill program, 30 mins of hill intervals, and she doesn't even break a sweat! Monday I went for a hack, had a nice dressage school, and then she went on the treadmill immediately after, and it seemed like a nice easy cool down for her, haha. So I think we will be ready!! :)
<p>Ready for our dressage clinic!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/30A7AAC4-0FD8-4061-B600-79F7CF3CAE06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/30A7AAC4-0FD8-4061-B600-79F7CF3CAE06.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Sunny's frosty nose, I think she is excited for warmer California too!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/933670AB-D29A-4A03-A934-A99198F20BEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/933670AB-D29A-4A03-A934-A99198F20BEF.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>It was a gorgeous morning heading out to the barn, the sun dogs actually made a full circle above the sun but my iphone couldn't capture it properly! It was so beautiful though!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/C9C37739-3E7A-47C6-90D3-BD794B2F2C1F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/C9C37739-3E7A-47C6-90D3-BD794B2F2C1F.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Some photos from hacking last weekend. I go out for hacks whenever I possibly can, if the weather is co-operating, we get out there! Hacked 2 days in a row last weekend:)
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/FB59A83D-D435-452F-A11B-DDF1424DE1AC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/FB59A83D-D435-452F-A11B-DDF1424DE1AC.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/8CC5868B-A7C3-499E-A2DB-11C5117EF570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/8CC5868B-A7C3-499E-A2DB-11C5117EF570.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/1FC9BACD-26E7-43E7-8D9B-F2C61F2A8C52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/1FC9BACD-26E7-43E7-8D9B-F2C61F2A8C52.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Brittany and her mare Uma out for a hack with Sunny and I on Monday:)
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/3B721A84-04AF-484F-8937-B4944253C8E7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/3B721A84-04AF-484F-8937-B4944253C8E7.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Working it out on the treadmill!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/BB1041F9-1D77-4A3C-A452-55EDDC2267E5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/BB1041F9-1D77-4A3C-A452-55EDDC2267E5.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid768.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fxx321%2Fsuperjess12%2F1F05C5D2-E9C3-40CB-AC48-A4A72B35541C.mp4"></embed>
I did resize the photos because they were HUGE but not sure if that worked properly because Photobucket is not co-operating! :Palbertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-31856910164232399602014-02-14T17:57:00.002-08:002014-02-14T17:57:41.884-08:00Input Please!<p>I need some opinions! :)
<p>I've been messing around a little bit with my albertaeventer website. I finally got the dreamhost/wordpress issues sorted out so I've just been playing around with some of the free templates that come with wordpress, and figuring out how everything works, I haven't actually added any content yet. The current layout (Coller) was the only one I didn't hate, but I'm not planning on keeping it, it's pretty generic.
<p>Check it out if you want: <a href="http://www.albertaeventer.com"> AlbertaEventer</a>
<p>What I'm wanting is something that can double as my personal website and a blog as well. Don't worry, I'm not totally ditching this blog or anyhing!! I want something not too cluttered or busy or out there, but something that's still a little different and unique. I need to be able to have both blog type entry and static pages that look good and are easy to incorporate photos into, and of course be easy to navigate.
<p>I've been doing some googling and checking out different templates. The only one I've found so far that I REALLY like is this one: <a href="http://themeprince.com/themes/empireii/?tf_first_visit=1#/themes/empirei/<http://demo.mountainthemes.com/09/>"> Empire</a>
<p>Opinions? I like how the background photos are large but there is a ton of room for text as well. And it is straightforward and easy to navigate. A lot of the templates I've looked at seem like they're either primarily photo layouts, with little to no room for actual text, or they're for a ton of text or articles and photos would be difficult to integrate. It's hard for me to imagine one or the other when they don't show examples of both.
<p>Here are a few others I find interesting if you guys want to take a look.
<p><a href="http://switcher.madeinebor.com/?theme=Anchor"> Anchor</a> I am kind of torn about websites like this, the funky pages/scrolling. <a href="http://www.buckdavidsoneventing.com/"> Buck Davidson </a> has something similar. It's definitely different, and I like different, but I can't seem to decide it I think it's kind of cool or kind of annoying.
<p><a href="http://switcher.madeinebor.com/?theme=Seabird"> Seabird</a> I was looking at the side menu layout. This one looked like it would be easy to work both photos and text into.
<p><a href="http://demo.mountainthemes.com/09/"> Grid</a> This one I thought the top grid part was very cool, not sure how a blog type page would look though as they didn't have an example pages for text, etc.
<p><a href="http://ava-themes.com/WP/Blog-A-Porter/blog/"> Blog-A-Porter</a> It's interesting but seems like it might be too busy for what I want.
<p>Thoughts? Any input at all is greatly appreciated:)albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-86174698063391074222014-02-09T15:16:00.000-08:002014-02-09T15:18:28.082-08:00January Recap!<p>Going to kill a few birds with one stone here! January was crazy busy for me. When am I not crazy busy? Lol.
<p>I'm really cracking down to get ready for California, we have been working our butts off so hopefully we don't get down there and embarrass ourselves:P During a regular season it usually takes us an event or two to get into the swing of things and brush the rust off, and I don't really have the luxury of an event or two just to mess around this year with the "plans" I currently have. I put plans in quotes because we all know that with horses, plans are just sort of wishful thinking!! But I'm aiming toward things, so I'm working really hard and trying my best to be as prepared as possible.
<p>In those 2 events in California I want to have GOOD dressage tests. I don't care about placings, I want to be able to not freak out about sitting my test and just be presentable in general. I want to have POSITIVE and SOLID stadium rounds. Rails are the least of my worries, I just don't want to freeze up in the ring or override, I want to ride like I know I can and not have to emergency circle every 5 seconds because Sunny is jumping me out of the tack. I want to ride a CONFIDENT and ACCURATE cross country. No more of these silly runouts because I don't have myself organized. Sunny is feeling 100% better physically, so any problem right now I absolutely know is me. So that's kinda my thoughts at the moment.
<p>I've got a pretty intense riding schedule going on. Riding 6 days a week, and I have Sunny going on the treadmill twice a week for Feb to work on her conditioning and build some more hind end muscle. I was having trouble finding days off for a bit because I have been really GOGOGO lately, but I know rest is important. Being on the High Performance Team I was required to submit a weekly training plan, which I am finding super super helpful, so this is how things are looking for February!
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/WTS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/WTS.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I had 5 weekly jump lessons in January. We had lots of fun building all sorts of fun stuff! That's one great thing about my barn, my coach is very awesome because I can go to her and be like "I'd like to work on X and Y." And she'll go "Awesome! Build whatever you want and we will do it up!"
<p>I built a faux corner for our one lesson, because I wanted to ride an oxer 4 strides bending line to the left to a right facing corner, which was the question that we had problems with at the South Peace event. And 3 of 4 runouts in 2013 were at a right facing corner. So I wanted to make sure we had worked out any remaining issues from that. One of the jumps also ended up at the top of the one standard in this lesson, which was super fun. Sunny absolutely FLEW over it no problem, and it was the largest non cross country jump I've jumped, so I was pretty happy too:)
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/sunjump1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/sunjump1.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/P1160016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/P1160016.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/btJE1e_qGqo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>2 days later we headed over to the lovely Horse In Hand Ranch for a jump schooling day. It was very nice to get out somewhere different after being cooped up for most of the winter so far, haha. The day didn't go quite as planned, Sunny had a very uncharacteristic couple of hard stops at the liverpool, which caught me totally off guard, and I came off twice! It was rather entertaining, and we did work the problems out in the end! I was so surprised and shocked, all I could do was just laugh at the time! The funny thing was that we had already jumped the liverpool several times from the other direction before her stops.
<p>Here are the falls for your viewing pleasure, both ground cam and helmet cam!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JKCpk22hXDM?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p> And the rest of the video from that day. Everything before the 3 minute mark was before our falls, you see she jumps it several times no problem, and then the clips after that were after we had worked ourselves out.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1xMx5jq1Z7U?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p>For the following week's lesson we set up the Suicide X. I had done this in one lesson last winter, however it was the lesson where Sunny had lost. her. mind. There's a pretty epic video on my youtube of it. So we never did make it to the actual jumping of the middle X part. I'm happy to say that we did indeed have a brain this time around and it went MUCH better.
<p>I've had some people ask about how we had it set up, so here is a diagram. The exercise on the right is what we used to warm up, I didn't helmet cam it but we did it in both directions. It is an excellent exercise for practicing straightness, accuracy and holding your line on a short approach.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/SuicideX.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/SuicideX.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo SuicideX.jpg" /></a>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/S044wUlOif4?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p>That brings us to last week's lesson. We acquired 2 brand new rolltops from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DarlingDelightsWoodworking"> Darling Delights Woodworking </a>, so of course we pushed the 2 pieces together and created a cross country rolltop, haha.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/IMG_5861.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/IMG_5861.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_5861.jpg" /></a>
<p>Sunny and I had a few silly issues when we went to jump the roll top, which were mostly me not sitting back on the approach and not riding from the leg and not the hand like I'm supposed to! But I sorted myself out and once Sunny realized that YES we ARE supposed to jump that, she was fabulous. I didn't feel that great about the lesson right after because we did have some not so great moments, but once I got home and watched the video I felt a lot better. Sunny was jumping really well, and there are always going to be some awkward jumps and shitty distances, but you just have to ride through, keep on going and learn from your mistakes!
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oC_3whmABbk?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p>So that brings us (mostly) up to date! I haven't had much else going on, I work, then go to the barn. Sometimes yoga too. And planning for California!! :D That's pretty much it at the moment!!albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-18848223847812805662014-01-15T18:42:00.000-08:002014-01-15T18:42:29.767-08:00Exciting Plans for 2014!!<p>So I can finally announce this now that it's official!! <h3><b>SUNNY AND I ARE GOING TO CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D</b></h3>
<p>I had kind of decided a while back that I WANTED to go. But there were a lot of things that had to fall into place so that I would be able to go!
<p>#1 was the money thing. How the heck does a regular person afford something frivolous like a trip to California??
<p>We all know anything including horses is crazy expensive, much less taking them on a random trip to another country!! And being a horse owner on a budget, this is something that I am doing all by myself. So Jessica's crazy money saving party started a couple months ago. I will fully admit that in the past I haven't been the greatest with money! So saving up several thousand dollars over a winter seemed like an incredibly impossible task. But I'm doing it!!! I can hardly believe it! I'm over halfway to my goal amount, which I should reach easily the way things have been going, I'm already past the hard part (Christmas!). This whole saving thing is really making me think hard about what the heck I've been doing money-wise all those years! But I guess when you want something bad enough you'll find a way make it happen!
<p>After I determined that the money would be in place, the #2 thing was work. My general eventing schedule is going to be very different this year, with a lot of traveling as well. And I work my butt off at my full time job to be able to afford myself and my horses. My work was aware of the horse side of things when I started with them, and have been absolutely awesome about working around my events and clinics and everything else. Going to California for 3 weeks and then taking more time off over the summer was a LOT to ask of them, but my boss is very awesome and gave me the go ahead!! Luckily summer is a slower time for us so working around vacations and things is more doable then vs other parts of the year. So I am so incredibly happy and grateful for that. A huge shout out to my boss C for being so understanding and accommodating:)
<p>So Sunny and I, and my friend Jenn and her boy Aloan (check out their blog: http://smart-equine.blogspot.ca/) are heading down together! We are still exploring a lot of options but for now this is our tentative schedule for the trip:
<p>March 7 after work-Head down to Jenn's barn a few hours south of me near Calgary.
March 8-Leave Jenn's barn-we are staying overnight in Salt Lake City
March 9-Arrive at Twin Rivers Ranch (so we can get a cross country school or two in beforehand!)
March 12-Head to Copper Meadows
March 14-16-Copper Meadows Horse Trials (we are planning on staying at Copper afterwards)
March 24- MY BIRTHDAY!!!! Trailer to Galway Downs
March 28-30-Galway International Horse Trials
<p>Then we will either be leaving to head home the 30 or 31, just depending on what time we get done on Sunday.
<p>I am SO EXCITED. Seriously you guys, I have not been ANYWHERE. I don't even have a passport yet (it's on it's way though!), and Sunny has had one for 3 years, haha.
<p>There's SO much to do though! We still need to finalize a lot of things. We are tentatively planning on taking a borrowed trailer down. We will be really roughing it though, no living quarters or hookups anything, but we'll deal. Anything is better than a tent! The cheapest quote we got for commercial hauling was $1000 each way per horse, and we figure between the 2 of us, trailering down ourselves shouldn't cost that much. It will be expensive still, don't get me wrong, but not $4000 expensive. Plus it will be nice to have our own transportation and a way to get around. Someone asked if we were just going to stay in a hotel the whole time we were down there, and I just about laughed in their face. I don't even want to think about what 3 weeks in a hotel would cost!! I also need to figure out how we're going to get 3 weeks worth of feed for 2 horses down with us, or maybe we can buy some down there? That might be interesting.
<p>I'm currently looking to see if there's any clinics and trainers around South California that we could potentially ride with while we're down there. We're not going to go hog wild or anything, but if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!!
<p>Sunny has been going REALLY well lately. Our flat rides lately have been just incredible, she is like a totally different horse, even from just a month ago. Our counter canter is seriously amazing! We're even starting some lead changes. I am optimistic that we aren't going to *totally* suck at dressage this year!! The chiropractor was out on Saturday and commented how good and strong she was looking/feeling, and Sunny only needed a few minor adjustments, I was really happy about that. Now I just need to get MYSELF to the chiropractor, my lower back has been screwed up since I fell down the deck stairs in December, and sitting the trot has been extremely difficult for the past while. Most of the time my back is so tight I can't stand straight up or bend down unless I take a time out and prepare myself and do it slowly. And I HAVE to sit my trot for dressage down in the states! I have made an appointment for Monday, so hopefully we can get all that sorted out! I am definitely way overdue, I haven't been to the chiropractor since high school!!
<p>While I'm on a roll, I might as well post the rest of our proposed schedule for this year. So the things with asterixes are not set in stone, it just kind of depends on how things are going. Lots of options for June, as well as the later part of the summer.
<p>May 17-19 Chase Creek Horse Trial
**Jun 14-16 Aspen Farms H.T., OR June 28-29 Cochrane Horse Trials OR June 14-15 MREC June Horse Trials, OR Jun 28-30 Inavale Farm HT
Jul 12-14 37th Annual Whidbey Island H.T. course maps on website
July 24-28 Event at Rebecca Farm
**August 15-17 Alhambra Summer Event
**Sept 06-08 Aspen Farms H.T.
**Oct 30-Nov 02 Galway Downs International Three-Day Event & H.T.
<p>I have officially declared myself for 2 CCI 1*'s for 2014!!
<a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/9DC7D9FB-4084-4A38-8FE3-78CAC17F4691.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/9DC7D9FB-4084-4A38-8FE3-78CAC17F4691.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 9DC7D9FB-4084-4A38-8FE3-
78CAC17F4691.jpg"/></a>
<p>If California goes well I'll be able to do the CCI* at Chase Creek, but even if I just get 1 more qualifying score down there I'll still be able to do the CIC*. And Rebecca Farms' CCI* cross country looked like so much fun last year, so we're aiming for that as well!!! Seriously, check it out! SOOOOOO much fun!! :D http://en.mycoursewalk.com/course_walk/fences/1439
<p>As far as moving up to Intermediate goes, I definitely want to, we'll just have to see how things go for sure, because you never do know with horses, but Inavale in June or Whidbey Island in July may be where that happens if things are going as planned. But for now I'm just concentrating on improving everything and really rocking it out at prelim for the first part of the year:)
<p>Here is our helmet cam video from last Thursday's lesson, Sunny was a bit fired up that night! Our one little course from 2:50-3:55 was basically Sunny saying F-U! and trying to run away with herself, lol. But we got it together and had a really nice last little course. I noticed I say "Hey" and "Oh my goodness" far too much, haha.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/G-VLgR5_tkw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>A ground video of our last little course, we ended on a good note at least!!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pIqHwqN_xgI?list=UUyYwTV_qTedcpsuXII0U5SA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>We have had some decent weather here and there so I've been taking advantage of it whenever I can and hacking outside.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/BA64B12C-2BF6-4498-92C9-821790394B84.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/BA64B12C-2BF6-4498-92C9-821790394B84.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo BA64B12C-2BF6-4498-92C9-821790394B84.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/AA72B739-853F-4349-981A-0DDAF56F8541.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/AA72B739-853F-4349-981A-0DDAF56F8541.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AA72B739-853F-4349-981A-0DDAF56F8541.jpg"/></a>
<p>Did conditioning sets in the indoor on Monday! Did 3 sets of 3 mins trot and 3 mins canter, no breaks. Sunny was soaked but recovered quickly and I was surprised I wasn't totally dead after, haha. So it looks like both of us are in better shape than we thought!! Going to continue doing that once a week and increase intensity as we go so we are ready for California!! :)
<a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/24CEF31A-31E7-4987-8838-88C7EA967220.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/24CEF31A-31E7-4987-8838-88C7EA967220.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 24CEF31A-31E7-4987-8838-
88C7EA967220.jpg"/></a>
<p>So that where we're at as far as our plan for 2014!! It really is going to be the year of the horse! :)
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-44803605987804258812014-01-05T15:43:00.001-08:002014-01-05T15:43:37.097-08:00Lesson Videos!<p>I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy new year! I am very excited for 2014, and just wanted to share a few videos from some recent jumping lessons.
<p>This was our second time jumping since our near crash at our last event in September.
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KOfZJ08A34s?list=UUyYwTV_qTedcpsuXII0U5SA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>My coach traveled down to Oregon for a few weeks in December to ride with George Morris and Rich Fellers. This was a fun wide oxer exercise she brought back for us:)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jyBUGLXIdjQ?list=UUyYwTV_qTedcpsuXII0U5SA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>And these two was from this past Thursday, just doing a little course. My awesome bf Kris was able to come out and video from the ground for me:)
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NYgiDtzrF0Q?list=UUyYwTV_qTedcpsuXII0U5SA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/j0wzsCo3vwg?list=UUyYwTV_qTedcpsuXII0U5SA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>I need to get some video of our flatwork, it has come a long way already this winter:)
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-7639751556676119002013-12-30T20:02:00.002-08:002013-12-30T20:02:24.196-08:005 Day Challenge Day 5<p><b>21. Favorite classes to watch</b>
<p>Of course I love watching cross country. I don't go to that many other shows outside of events though, but when I'm bored I'll youtube all sorts of things. My first pick is intermediate and advanced cross country, buzzterbrown's channel on youtube is my go to, he takes absolutely amazing cross country footage and I love seeing all the different courses down in the states. I also love watching hunter and jumper derbies, the courses look like so much fun. Another thing I like to watch is hunter work offs. Some of those horses and riders are amazingly talented and make everything look easy.
<p><b>22. What’s in your cooler at horse shows?</b>
<p>Lots of ice water! I also stock up on coconut water (my like clockwork horse show headaches are totally gone since I've started drinking it!!), mandarin orange cups, swiss babybels, and granola bars. Depending on the event, they are the one time I will have energy drinks. Just because I don't sleep worth a crap away from home, and events in general mean really late nights and super early mornings, and it's nice to not be nodding off mid afternoon when I need to get out and walk cross country!
<p><b>23. One thing about showing (or riding in general) you wish you could change?</b>
<p>Of course we all would love if it was a bit more affordable! But if you want it bad enough, you'll make it happen, it's all about priorities and it's different for everyone of course. I find it very interesting watching the younger eventing crowd over the years, which ones sell the horse as soon as mommy and daddy stop paying for it, those who plug along through school and still do the odd event here and there, and the ones who come back to it later in life. It's a very interesting dynamic that I find fascinating.
<p><b>24. Your ringside crew</b>
<p>My amazing bf Kris is always there, rain, snow or shine, camera in hand! And I can't thank him enough for all his support and everything he does. I am incredibly lucky to have a bf that is not only interested in the horse side of things, but insists on coming with me on most of my horsie outings.
<p>I am a very independent person when it comes to shows and horses in general, for a long time I would only go to events by myself, it was way easier just having only myself to worry about, and not having to entertain/babysit others! But the past few years I have found a few eventing friends that I regularly hook up with at events/clinics, etc. My friend Jenn, who is an amazing rider and coach, we compete alongside each other at prelim, and have similar goals for the next couple years.
<p>Also my friend Erica (http://theimperfectperfecthorse.blogspot.com). We initially met online a few years ago (I like to refer to these as my creepy internet friends, haha) and I introduced her to the eventing scene here in Alberta. She lives very far away in an isolated part of the province, so visits are few and far between, but we get along great and have lots of fun when we are together. It's been fun to see her and her horse progress even just from the little bit of eventing they've been able to do so far on their journey together. We also both have a thirst for knowledge so we are forever sitting down "together", despite our distance, to watch jumping at Spruce Meadows, Rolex, or the Royal Winter fair online or on tv, and facebook messaging back and forth discussing it for hours.
<p><b>25. Best prizes.</b>
<p>I'm not too picky, I always love ribbons because they are usually few and far between at events. I would never turn down any sort of prizes though, and would love to add some Back On Track stuff to my tack locker!albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-58488998148008372812013-12-23T20:30:00.000-08:002013-12-23T20:39:59.252-08:005 Day Challenge Day 4<p><b>16. One thing you’d like to change about your horse</b>
<p>If Sunny were just a *little* bit taller! When I was horse shopping I didn't really have a certain height requirement, and I'm very glad for that now because if I had, I might not have even bothered to go look at Sunny. I was definitely hoping to find something taller than Sabre, who is maybe all of 14.2hh in his barely a horse glory. Sunny's ad said 16.1, which she very obviously is nowhere near, maybe it was a typo? But she was bigger than Sabre and that was all I cared about!
<p>I've only just started to run into a bit of the height issue now that I finally have a dressage saddle, at proper dressage length stirrups I end up not having much of my leg actually ON her at all. My legs don't dangle way below her belly though, it's just the way her ribs are sprung.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUj3v4VIt72ekDJx0_664meZD432dJ8QRqeBJqmHcCgxRWfi48Flq_6w8F-3-P1mv7-S6mP2qrdfGYOJ3VlHs74wjVXpqH1MgtC6TuMLR6rnGwuJmnuJLqNxd32CAy6qsmWDpDeUcMCPU/s1600/dressa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUj3v4VIt72ekDJx0_664meZD432dJ8QRqeBJqmHcCgxRWfi48Flq_6w8F-3-P1mv7-S6mP2qrdfGYOJ3VlHs74wjVXpqH1MgtC6TuMLR6rnGwuJmnuJLqNxd32CAy6qsmWDpDeUcMCPU/s320/dressa.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><b>17. Your horse’s future</b>
<p>Well we are currently running prelim and I don't feel like Sunny is struggling or near her limit in any way yet. She skips over all the jumps no problem, any jumping issues we've had have pretty much all been me, basically the bigger or more technical things get, the better she jumps! While the dressage is more difficult than jumping for us, it just means we need to work all that much harder on it! Honestly, I know we are never going to win the dressage, but we can certainly aim to put in a presentable and accurate test.
<p>Goals for the next year include doing a one star, and ultimately we'd like to move up to intermediate somewhere along the way.
<p>We are still working on plans for 2014, but it is shaping up to be a VERY exciting year, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us!
<p><b>18. Your worst show ever</b>
<p>Getting eliminated for dangerous riding at an event several years ago. It was back when I was struggling a LOT with Sunny, and while I don't think the situation was wholly unfounded, I still feel somewhat like they were just looking to make an example of me, and that the ground jury and others involved were extremely unprofessional and frankly a bit cruel with the way they handed things. That disappointed me a LOT. Sunny and I were having a lot of difficulties at the time, and it wasn't WHAT they were saying, because honestly I did agree with a good chunk of it, it was more HOW they said it that was the problem. There are ways to handle issues, and that includes being tactful and professional throughout. Neither of which were present in my situation unfortunately. Thank god I have fairly thick skin, I don't think that some other people would have been able to bounce back from something like that, and I can honestly say it was one of the most awful and humiliating things that has ever happened to me. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
<p>I have a link to a different blog of mine that has a pretty detailed account of the whole situation, I have made it public for a short time and if anyone would like to read please comment here then email me at jessica@albertaeventer.com and let me know who you are and I will send you the link. I don't feel comfortable posting it for the whole world to see.
<p><b>19. Favorite horse show venue</b>
<p>Hmmm. This one is a bit tough. I guess I would have to pick Chase Creek, because even though I have never done an actual event there, it is one of my favorites places. They have so many jumps and fun things for all levels to school over, the clinics there are just amazing. I also love having the creek right there as well to soak legs after a ride. The fact that it's situated in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been is definitely a plus, it's seriously like heaven out there. I am so excited they are bringing back the event next year, I am aiming to do the 1 star there, and I know the cross country course will be AMAZING and so much fun! I can't wait!!
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSERyHbZ3oDAr8fmd9nYwPgdkAwNlJkTYdZHdNu12o2S4aNG0mO-K1FFmlEXit6KOCIgGhvNZbVP537EQLZPxZS0BTa68XkCXGeOjO6O24UcDdmczHU-_NN4to4u_zrbdKb8mqgvz_an4/s1600/chase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSERyHbZ3oDAr8fmd9nYwPgdkAwNlJkTYdZHdNu12o2S4aNG0mO-K1FFmlEXit6KOCIgGhvNZbVP537EQLZPxZS0BTa68XkCXGeOjO6O24UcDdmczHU-_NN4to4u_zrbdKb8mqgvz_an4/s320/chase.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I guess Evergreen Park up in Grande Prairie would be another top pick of mine. They have lots of space, variety and terrain in their cross country course. It's one of the few places we have ACTUAL covered stalls for stabling instead of makeshift pens in a field. The clinic/event there is always a fun week for camping and riding, so much room to hand walk/hack/graze the horses and we always have a blast Riding on the racetrack is always a highlight for Sunny and I! The only downside is that it's so far away:P
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AxkNc6boXPLoFlaqmIIPKuxEN3_D4f87x4nOagbYaWVe_15eYBeoynnw6muIBTatZK_TstLsv0wmulKOln_WcKrDFo0TmfQ0kzRaXKMTRcz831vdL74KnkxjppNMlU7UhjwbaiGJHdU/s1600/track.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AxkNc6boXPLoFlaqmIIPKuxEN3_D4f87x4nOagbYaWVe_15eYBeoynnw6muIBTatZK_TstLsv0wmulKOln_WcKrDFo0TmfQ0kzRaXKMTRcz831vdL74KnkxjppNMlU7UhjwbaiGJHdU/s320/track.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><b>20. Your show day routine</b>
<p>For a 2 day (Saturday/Sunday) event, we ship out Friday evening, so I start my main prep on the Thursday. I ride, bathe then braid! I am lucky that Sunny does not mess with her braids at all, and I show sheen her white leg markings as mentioned in my last post so any possible poo stains or mud will brush right off. I blanket to make sure she stays (mostly) clean. Then I will load my car or trailer and have everything ready to go thursday night. Friday after work, I load Sunny and go. Get to the event, set up the stall, settle in, and usually have a short dressage school. Having everything ready a day in advance leaves me with basically nothing to do after I ride besides pick up my show package, feed Sunny, maybe take a look at some of my cross country course, help out my friends, and then have a few drinks and just chill.
<p>Usually we have dressage at 8 or 9am Saturday morning (prelim always goes first both), so I'm usually up around 5. I will feed, throw Sunny's BOT back warmer on, and take her for a walk to stretch her legs and let her eat some grass. Let her finish her breakfast and I will grab myself a quick bite. Then I'll clean my tack, get everything out and organized so I can tack up and be on roughly an hour prior to my dressage time. After dressage we usually have a couple hours before stadium, so we'll put the horses away, chill for a bit, before tacking up again and heading over to walk our course. After stadium is time for walking cross country (twice!), watching friends ride, photographing, etc. Will take Sunny out for another handwalk & graze or two before putting her to bed.
<p>The Sunday is a bit simpler, I don't have to get up as early! Feed Sunny, quick hand walk, then start booting up for cross country! Tack up, be on about half an hour before my time. Then afterwards we will cool out the horses, wait around for results or to watch friends ride or take photos. Clean stalls and load up, and go home. Pretty simple:)albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-7837488924692554442013-12-20T18:46:00.001-08:002013-12-20T18:46:11.146-08:005 Day Challenge Day 3<p>11. Critique your horse’s conformation
<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikvoOc0a50Fnq7lWlBhk9kiGYq92vD7hiqBg1quSWVD3L9DIbnn4mY0vEFAxqDBO_CDznsVkdbEPXIkhcTpEOSCEUM144fqQjS4T6KsRMEWP841kyFYF2_zHSnfblSYnTddLbvytwXh0k/s1600/photo(2).PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikvoOc0a50Fnq7lWlBhk9kiGYq92vD7hiqBg1quSWVD3L9DIbnn4mY0vEFAxqDBO_CDznsVkdbEPXIkhcTpEOSCEUM144fqQjS4T6KsRMEWP841kyFYF2_zHSnfblSYnTddLbvytwXh0k/s400/photo(2).PNG" width="400" /></a>
<p>
At first glance, Sunny doesn't look like your typical eventer. The first thing you notice is that she is LONG. People are shocked when they find out this little 15.1hh girl rocks a size 80 blanket.
<p>
Ideally if you separated a horse into 3 sections, forequarter, back, and hindquarter, a balanced horse would have 3 equal sections. Here you can very easily see with the green lines this is NOT the case with Sunny! Her long back is by far her weakest characteristic. She finds it difficult to really lift her back and step under herself, tracking up under saddle is a challenge, partly because her hind end is just so dang far away from the front!
<p>
The LS joint should be placed directly over the point of hip for optimal hind end strength transfer and carrying power, but Sunny's is set slightly to the rear. She is also very wasp waisted, which combined with her long back, makes her have a weak loin coupling, further hindering her drive and power from the rear. It's not a big surprise that dressage is our weakest phase!
<p>
Now on to some positives. She has short cannons, flat knees, her legs overall are pretty good. Nice and straight, from both the front and the side. Pasterns are maybe just a tad short but angled nicely. She is standing a bit funky behind in this photo so it's not the best representation of her hind legs. From the point of hip to point of buttock to stifle, those sides of the black triangle are fairly equal, which will allow her to compress her hind end well for jumping. Her stifle is nice and low and placed well away from her body, which gives her scope to clear height as well as width.
<p>
Sunny has a large shoulder with a decent slope to it. Her humerus is on the longer side and nicely angled. This is where her killer front end over fences comes from. She has tons of mobility in her front limbs to roll her shoulder blade back and swing those knees up and forward. Her elbow is set well away from her body, which will not limit her front limb mobility.
<p>
Despite her level topline, Sunny is built slightly downhill. Her stifle sits slightly higher than her elbow, shown by the yellow line, and while the black line drawn upward through her front end does come out in front of her withers, it still shows a lot of Sunny front end in front of that line, which causes her to travel heavier on the forehand. Her neck is very long which makes it easier for her to use it as a counter balance while jumping, but makes it harder to keep her straight on the flat. Her neck also ties in low which also weights the front end more and will limit her ability to carry her head and neck in a higher level dressage type of collection.
<p>
Sunny is far from the perfect specimen, but despite her obvious shortcomings, she does have a lot of good things going for her. I'm sure her huge heart plays a large role in overcoming her weakness as well. I am proud to say that despite her sort of mish mashed looking conformation, she has always been sound and has not yet needed any sort of maintenance.
<p>
12. Horse’s favorite riding exercise
<p>
Variety is definitely the spice of life for Sunny! By far she enjoys jumping the most, but since we can't jump every day, I try to mix things up as much as I can to keep her from getting bored. She seems to enjoy anything new or different, whether it's pole work, hacking out, conditioning work, etc. Even in our flat work I keep things varied and interesting, lots of transitions and different movements and figures, and I like using poles during our flat rides too. Sunny is the kind of horse that can apply herself and has an incredible work ethic, but you HAVE to keep her busy or else she makes her own party!
<p>
13. Favorite spa day products
<p>
Sunny very rarely gets an actual bathing, I'm more a fan of just a quick hosing off with plain water after a ride instead. Before a show I'll usually hose her off well and do a quick shampoo of what little white she has on her legs. Show sheen is my go to product for sure. I'll show sheen her tail a couple of days before a show and then just braid it. Then go to the show, unbraid, finger comb, and voila! I'll also show sheen her white leg markings after I shampoo them, that works like a darn for any dirt or poo stains she might get during the show, the markings stay slick so that everything brushes right off.
<p>
14. Three best things about your horse
<p>
Sunny is ridiculous honest while jumping. If there is any possible way she can get over the fence, she will absolutely do it, even if it's not conventional or pretty. She tries SO HARD for me all the time, even when I'm riding like crap and definitely don't deserve it! I have had horrendous stadium rounds where I wasn't on my game at all and was just burying her so deep to everything, and instead of just stopping like I know so many horses would, she still bailed my ass out, no questions asked. Her heart is absolutely huge, and I think that is what I love the most about her. She definitely trusts me, and would do pretty much anything I asked, and I am so grateful for that, and extremely careful with it as well.
<p>
She really steps up to the plate. Nothing phases her. Well, I shouldn't say that exactly, because she *can* get worked up very easily! Simple things like a bunch of canter poles on the ground can really blow her mind sometimes, it's hilarious. But the things you *think* would typically bother a horse, like having a super awkward jump or crashing through a fence, misreading a cross country fence and almost wearing it as a hat, or us just having a unfortunate moment while schooling where I have a nasty fall, those are the times where Sunny really puts on her big girl panties and really rises to the occasion. She doesn't get frazzled or anxious. I can come back around to the same question where we had problems, and she goes right back at it like a tiger, just as determined as I am to nail it and get it right, with no thoughts to whatever happened moments before. She gives me so much confidence that way, she really buckles down when it counts.
<p>
She's not malicious. Some people would automatically assume differently seeing her spaz out and bolt and buck under saddle, but none of it she does to get me off or deliberately try to hurt me. That's the difference. I have ridden horses that wait for you to let your guard down and then will let out a huge buck or slam on the brakes at a fence for no reason, or crow hop or rear because they don't want to work. Years ago, as favor to a friend, I was riding their horse who had learned to curl and slowly duck behind the contact, slam on the brakes, drop his shoulder and spin during rides to try get you off. It was definitely a man made habit, and made me angry every time this horse would try it. I was able to break the horse of the habit after a few rides, but as soon as the owner got on, the horse was instantly back to its old ways. One of those situations where I just had to cut my losses, as the owner wasn't willing to change anything in their riding. THAT kind of stuff I can not stand, just your typical spoiled horse stuff. Shenanigans I can deal with, no problem. When a person has caused a problem I'm a less forgiving. With Sunny it's different. Sunny is Sunny and is going to do her thing regardless, whether it's letting out a celebratory buck in the middle of a dressage test or jumping 1.15m like it's 1.30m. If I can't stay with her, that's MY problem, not hers!!
<p>
On the ground is another story, as she can definitely put on a mean bitch face and will test people she doesn't know. I know she would never bite *me*, she knows better, but I can't say that she would be the same with someone else.
<p>
15. Favorite picture of your horse
<p>This is still one of my favorites, from last summer. Our first double clear prelim and we ROCKED it!! That chevron was huge as well, almost 5 feet with that brush on it.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9cG_Hkvuy51LwMyh5b0LjQ6E0ehhCtmp2TX1tl2oUxtqg2luZQisyhbR9gJQywezOHUHqeW0JKlc0F6JtCIMmO0ENXJh9wHUJB13WxBle7-x-bagT_gr3ju0QwSjEUonCgEBxwJ55-Rw/s1600/jesssun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9cG_Hkvuy51LwMyh5b0LjQ6E0ehhCtmp2TX1tl2oUxtqg2luZQisyhbR9gJQywezOHUHqeW0JKlc0F6JtCIMmO0ENXJh9wHUJB13WxBle7-x-bagT_gr3ju0QwSjEUonCgEBxwJ55-Rw/s400/jesssun.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-80916559457157571962013-12-14T16:59:00.001-08:002013-12-14T17:46:52.701-08:005 Day Challenge Day 2<p><b>6. Favorite equestrian book and movie</b>
<p>It took me a good hour of googling to find the books I was thinking of! I had a couple books from the 80's, the Blue Ribbon Series by Chris St. John, back when I was younger, and absolutely LOVED them!! Eventing books were (and still are!) fairly hard to come by, and I liked how these ones didn't have as much silly teenage fluff as a lot of the other books I've read. Would love to track down the whole series! http://chrisstjohn.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/
<p>Another of my current favorites is Finding My Distance-A Year in the Life of a Three Day Event Rider by Julia Wendell. It leaves out nothing, you go through all the ups and downs, victories and hardships right along with her, I really enjoyed it. I've been lending this one to all my horsey friends! http://www.otherwiseperfectfarm.com/findingdistance_frame.html
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpw8zYqFiPfAsFZp9F7SYCgwrAT7mUfMSMXeIco_UuFKzRgI5ciENyzDft3g0LZ1n7Al91fC8EBKVuhWQz88iyfy9PQKnll85kmG9IACdcw21aixWhVo_bHMaik9G_I0Z9AzeGWsl8e4/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpw8zYqFiPfAsFZp9F7SYCgwrAT7mUfMSMXeIco_UuFKzRgI5ciENyzDft3g0LZ1n7Al91fC8EBKVuhWQz88iyfy9PQKnll85kmG9IACdcw21aixWhVo_bHMaik9G_I0Z9AzeGWsl8e4/s200/1.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lcsMQaHVwnT0xUPiZ_QIX92768wlO3sx9JJe-cPDH53LNXj12q59CxAGr7HX5qRddtNXtMy5qwM7bYOrHnxS0X3RGACFXIS8PmcVlhr6iMpE50ExqurNnRqgvRfInpo-jlfaRIcSXsg/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lcsMQaHVwnT0xUPiZ_QIX92768wlO3sx9JJe-cPDH53LNXj12q59CxAGr7HX5qRddtNXtMy5qwM7bYOrHnxS0X3RGACFXIS8PmcVlhr6iMpE50ExqurNnRqgvRfInpo-jlfaRIcSXsg/s200/11.jpg" /></a>
<p>There is one more book that I had as a kid and I have googled and googled and can't for the life of me remember the name! It's also an old eventing novel, a girl and her horse go to a big event after coming back from an accident where her and her horse crashed on a fence at the bottom of a steep hill, one of the guys on the farm had bet her that she couldn't do it or something along those lines. Anyways, the book covers pretty much the whole time she is at this event, and they do well if I remember correctly, even conquering the scary 3 fence combination on cross country set on a steep downhill. If this is ringing a bell for anyone I would love if you let me in on it, haha. Another book I would love to track down again!
<p>ETA: THANK YOU DAWN!!!! It was Three Day Challenge by Joan Weir, also later published under the name Storm Rider.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8X2nyPbRuzMg29IqCqFtrOshkkks0FCvTl1At_GdYC3akJGxjSJ083YdWYqlDwJP86NWyqakv3KMbiTBpAyWuaWcq7V_D7tRXdCfi_POGNUAv0F_m75nOXOsi-aS1nYr2LMm36yYbzos/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8X2nyPbRuzMg29IqCqFtrOshkkks0FCvTl1At_GdYC3akJGxjSJ083YdWYqlDwJP86NWyqakv3KMbiTBpAyWuaWcq7V_D7tRXdCfi_POGNUAv0F_m75nOXOsi-aS1nYr2LMm36yYbzos/s200/2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CH_ZZqQJeTi59DY1vTdGHZH-ogp8AohfhHzboVVSXpSMvhc-NxznFumhtI13j_KddyJ_Oij_7NTGYnF_slmikol8bmOSBvJJOUmH1luxm4qlN-X0R7SZTg_dsMQlXm6R8MGon51uheM/s1600/22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CH_ZZqQJeTi59DY1vTdGHZH-ogp8AohfhHzboVVSXpSMvhc-NxznFumhtI13j_KddyJ_Oij_7NTGYnF_slmikol8bmOSBvJJOUmH1luxm4qlN-X0R7SZTg_dsMQlXm6R8MGon51uheM/s200/22.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>As far as movies go, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken is definitely up there, along with Sylvester.
<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpJAZ27ceqrSvKFlXTkKWxwb8dOcWslDNGoCuI8KJWy0VgVJuaUXO3pnKpHcKJwW4kqidX3rYPgB14iZ6WPc_ELopD6ePnd7UWt8VfTRr9edP3Tt7qg5uWZW61xJsRxJ-s7NyeALes-s/s1600/111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpJAZ27ceqrSvKFlXTkKWxwb8dOcWslDNGoCuI8KJWy0VgVJuaUXO3pnKpHcKJwW4kqidX3rYPgB14iZ6WPc_ELopD6ePnd7UWt8VfTRr9edP3Tt7qg5uWZW61xJsRxJ-s7NyeALes-s/s200/111.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2V2fYhS9a0Sz1F4nOag1gDa1oGNXALOo-XeTmR4WKrsLeu4OhKt4_P-qehnmlJoNiMmIuNDdbjob-yjkcPp4fWde82JixqH8WL9M5xlXzpZ7o5FlIunZCB6LuBqzMx0ky3GkBOU5uhVE/s1600/1111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2V2fYhS9a0Sz1F4nOag1gDa1oGNXALOo-XeTmR4WKrsLeu4OhKt4_P-qehnmlJoNiMmIuNDdbjob-yjkcPp4fWde82JixqH8WL9M5xlXzpZ7o5FlIunZCB6LuBqzMx0ky3GkBOU5uhVE/s200/1111.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><b>7. Most common riding misconceptions</b>
<p>The most obvious one is that "the horse does all the work." Which we all know is FAR from the truth! The other that bugs me is the assumption that anyone who has horses is rich. I've had some very odd/borderline offensive questions from non-horse people about the cost of horse things as well as my personal finances. I find it very funny how some find it appropriate to ask a perfect stranger personal questions about their spending and financial situation!
<p>Also the questions "How much money do you make eventing?" (Um, none.) Always so predictably followed by: "Then why do you do it?" There's basically no chance in hell of explaining this in any sort of sufficient way to someone that's not a horse person.
<p><b>8. 2 riding strengths and 1 riding weaknesses</b>
<p>One of my strengths is being able to step back and look at things objectively while riding. Most specifically when things go pear shaped. If I fall off or something goes wrong, instead of getting upset or scared I go "Well A, B and C went wrong, and I should have did X, Y and Z instead, so I'm getting right back on to fix that immediately!" I've had some things happen while I'm riding which I'm sure would scare the crap out of a lot of people, but for some reason I can easily push the emotional stuff aside and just carry on.
<p>I guess I could call it a strength, my ability to just go with the flow. I see many riders, especially when jumping, get all flustered and upset if the slightest thing goes wrong or their horse blows a lead or gets an awkward distance in a combination, they will just stop or circle instead of working through and/or correcting the problem. Not everything is going to be perfect everywhere, especially in the show ring, so I think it's very important to be able to push through and just ride what you have at that moment, whether it's ideal or not.
<p>A weakness could be that I don't see distances to jumps very well sometimes. That would be totally fine if I just sat up and rode whatever the horse gives me, but I for some reason I have this annoying habit of tipping my upper body forward when I don't see the distance. This sometimes results in my flailing around in a very awkward and ineffective way, and on occasion I will flail myself clean off the horse, which usually results in some fantastic photos! Definitely not ideal, especially on cross country where the back seat is the place to be!! But I'm working on it!
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseFall/f5799e7f-2d53-4c99-8252-82cca23704d7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseFall/f5799e7f-2d53-4c99-8252-82cca23704d7.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><b>9. Least favorite thing about horses and/or riding</b>
<p>The financial aspect can be difficult at time. But that comes with the territory, you do what you gotta do, and I know many can relate! I am forever wearing my own jeans until they fall apart, or pushing back getting an oil change on the car because Sunny needs the chiropractor or a new blanket. It's all about priorities, and it can very hard to balance everything sometimes!
<p><b>10. What do you feed your horse?</b>
<p>My current barn is one of the first places I have boarded where the barn takes care of the feed, not me. I've boarded at many places over the years and have gotten horribly anal about what my horses eat. I just shudder when I think about some places I've been over the years that feed sweet feed only or give all the horses the same scoop of feed twice a day regardless of whether they need it or not!!
<p>Sunny gets free choice hay, timothy with a bit of alfalfa. The barn provides a high fat high fibre complete pellet, and I feed Sunny myself after I ride. Through the winter she basically gets as much pellet as she'll eat after I ride (1 1/2-2 scoops). She stays a bit on the thin side naturally, and I work her fairly hard year round, so we want to gain or maintain over the winter, not lose weight. Otherwise she usually gets about 1/2 scoop a day. No regular supplements at this time.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/1689b763-92e1-4eac-82c7-2c76dfb6aa9b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/1689b763-92e1-4eac-82c7-2c76dfb6aa9b.jpg" /></a></div>albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-71511101947094512122013-12-10T18:46:00.000-08:002013-12-10T18:46:28.068-08:005 Day Challenge Day 1<p>Going to do a few different things on here so I can keep up with posting! Saw this on a friend's blog and thought it looked fun! No guarantee I will keep up with the 5 days straight thing, but I can try! :)
<p>Day 1
<p><b>1. Most influential person on your riding</b>
<p>This is a tough question! I didn't have the typical horse experience growing up, I have always been and still am very much a "do it yourself" kind of person, I learned how to ride by reading tons of books and trial and error. I never had that one instructor who I was with forever who helped mold and shape me into the rider I am today. Other than a handful of jumping lessons one spring back when I was about 12, and the very odd coached ride on a random horse here and there, I never really had any sort of actual formal lessons until I attended Olds College in 2003, I was 20. I guess I couldn't have been doing that badly for myself because I was one of the 10 students they chose for the program, but very often I find myself looking at kids and teens and I think "Gosh, imagine how much farther along I would be in my riding if I had had good (heck, ANY!) regular instruction when I was younger!"
<p>I am a big fan of clinics, and I'd have to say that Sandy Alexander has had the biggest impact on my riding, although I definitely don't get to ride with him anywhere near as often as I'd like! He has an amazing natural intuition, I have never met anyone who can watch you ride for 10 minutes and instantly know everything about you. He's very honest and blunt, sometimes to the point some would consider rudeness, and has been known to make riders shed a few tears, but he is 100% bang on about everything he says and does not apologize for it.
<p>Sandy is huge into the psychology side of things as well, he merges both the mental and physical sides of riding and really holds riders accountable for everything. When riding with him you can count on the fact that he will cover ALL the bases, he will go deeper and quickly discover your weaknesses and shortcomings, and help you to improve them. He will break you down and then build you back up, in the best way possible.
<p>I find him very similar in teaching style to George Morris, who I have not yet had the honor of riding with, but someday I hope I do! Both are very honest and blunt, but if you are open and have truly come to learn and try hard, you will walk away with far more knowledge gained than you ever thought possible.
<p><b>2. Piece of tack you’d love to splurge on</b>
<p>A custom jumping/cross country saddle would no doubt be at the top of my list, but is definitely not in the cards at the moment. Staying a little more practical, a Back On Track mesh sheet will be my next splurge for sure. I have the quick wraps and back warmer for Sunny, and she absolutely loves them, the back warmer works absolute wonders for her tight muscles and has improved her cold back so much. I think she would definitely benefit a lot from a full blanket as well.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey3n5zgBqUlZqa4zPKlNk8NG3ayaSz9OT4YNXVzm_U4kZV3hZszl7kMKk0oKu4M7j1YGM2-l5DhfIbm0Aiz9K1HKy3c16uD50FUH4WlOxcO9kebtyPGwnRk6tNm5i5orYBQLBtzOWbmA/s1600/bot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey3n5zgBqUlZqa4zPKlNk8NG3ayaSz9OT4YNXVzm_U4kZV3hZszl7kMKk0oKu4M7j1YGM2-l5DhfIbm0Aiz9K1HKy3c16uD50FUH4WlOxcO9kebtyPGwnRk6tNm5i5orYBQLBtzOWbmA/s320/bot.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><b>3. Top 5 riding playlist</b>
<p>I'm probably a bit behind on this trend. I have never been one of those people who puts on headphones to do things. At home when I'm by myself I'll throw on headphones every once in awhile, but in public it makes me very uncomfortable to be cut off from everything going on around me. I've had a jogger wearing headphones totally unaware run out of a driveway in the country onto the road directly in front of my car, and thank god I managed to narrowly miss her, and she didn't even notice what had happened until I was already half in the ditch and had already passed her by.
<p>There is always a radio playing in the barn though, on various random stations, and certain songs do help me get into a better rhythm while trotting or cantering.
<p>I must add that one of my dreams has always been to compete in the indoor eventing at the Royal Winter Fair, and now with the Royal West starting up in 2014, it's looking like that could possibly be less of a dream and more of a reality! If I ever get the chance to do it, and I know that they usually just play random music during the rides, it would absolutely make my day if they played Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO while I ride:)
<p><b>4. Most important aspect of your barn?</b>
<p>I will admit that I was a barn hopper for a lot of years. There was a few reasons for it, the main one was that I was (and still am) very much a rider on a budget. I would go to a barn with a indoor arena for the winter, then do self-board somewhere cheaper for the summer. I also never found a real barn that I connected with and actually enjoyed. Many places I've boarded at over the years were the typical barns you hear about, crazy owner/boarders, drama, sub par care, etc. They were fine for a few months but nowhere I had any desire to stay long term. Then I went to my current barn.
<p>Again it was supposed to be just for the winter, but this place was different. Everyone was so helpful and friendly. They really welcomed me in, the lone eventer in a barn of jumpers. I got along great with the BO/coach there, which was surprising after having some bad experiences with a few different instructors. I didn't go to this barn looking for a regular coach, just a place to ride for the winter, so that was a plus. Everything just fit. Sunny seemed a LOT happier there too, she was far more relaxed than she'd been at any previous places. And then when spring came, the time when I would've moved for the summer came and went, and leaving never even crossed my mind.
<p>So definitely the most important aspect is the team atmosphere and camaraderie between everyone. I'd never been in a lesson where the other students were encouraging and cheering you on, and celebrating the little things right alongside you. The great care is definitely a plus as well, the farrier at the barn is fabulous, Sunny has never thrown a shoe after moving there! There are a few things that I wish for here and there, like more space to ride outside the ring for conditioning and trails for hacking, but there are more positives than negatives so I make do!
<p><b>5. Three winter riding goals</b>
<p>1. Be able to sit the trot *well*. (And ultimately be able to sit a whole dressage test!)
<p>2. Conquer haunches in and perfect our shoulder in, then start half pass.
<p>3. Really get comfortable jumping up to 1.20m. (Riding Sunny's BIG jump!)
<p>And just dressage in general. This is all to go with my goal of moving up to Intermediate in 2014. We have a long ways to go and a lot of things will have to go right for us to get there, but it's all a lot of baby steps along the way!
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4JmHHiI74L6BT7UH4kkOXiN4XWaqXITJWTt_raZqAGRQQJ-V4KQ5HN_qSAzCMu-K3iONB7jNBZ7nJpcOiUNhQ3IoJnuisd7E00Y1nJelL7SYPKkSeTwwnohyphenhyphenxmn-3HJbOupQOz3yKRw/s1600/dressa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4JmHHiI74L6BT7UH4kkOXiN4XWaqXITJWTt_raZqAGRQQJ-V4KQ5HN_qSAzCMu-K3iONB7jNBZ7nJpcOiUNhQ3IoJnuisd7E00Y1nJelL7SYPKkSeTwwnohyphenhyphenxmn-3HJbOupQOz3yKRw/s320/dressa.jpg" /></a></div>
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-86285495186657948812013-12-08T18:25:00.001-08:002013-12-08T18:25:07.356-08:00The Rest Of The Summer...The Condensed Version!<p>I feel terrible for neglecting this blog! The year always starts out well, I am great about keeping up and posting regularly, and then it all goes to crap partway through, when things get REALLY busy! I'm just so darn busy! Oh well, we can always strive to improve that, anyways, haha.
<p>I wanted to post about how Sunny's chiropractor appointment went, but then I realized that I would need to also post about how parts of our summer went, and the issues we'd been having, in order to fully appreciate/understand the chiro stuff! Lol.
<p>Geez, where to even start? I guess if I look at the big picture, I am really happy overall and with the progress we made, from the beginning of the season to the end.
<p>Dressage was MUCH improved this year, we are finally getting the relaxation I have been working so hard for, and now we are starting to be able to really tweak and improve everything else. Sucks because our best test by far was at the South Peace Event, and our dressage judge happened to be the extra angry one that gave me crap for whacking Sunny with my reins at Beaumont when she WOULD. NOT. HALT. So this dressage judge already had a sour taste in her mouth about Sunny and I from the get go, plus she marks pretty hard anyways, so we ended up near the bottom of the pack. But that's just how things go sometimes, and it was rather surprising at the Alhambra Fall Event, Sunny felt super stiff and resistant during our test, and I wasn't happy with it at ALL. But because of our new found relaxation, we ended up not dead last like I'd expected, but mid pack, with all of the scores fairly close! This dressage thing is opening up into a whole new world now that things are finally coming together!
<p>Stadium started out a little rocky this year, almost every event I would have that *one* moment, everything else would be great except for that one fence Sunny would absolutely launch out of nowhere like it was 1.30m, nearly jumping me right off, and I would be hanging half off and have to do an emergency circle to recompose myself, thus incurring 4 more faults and a bunch of time penalties, and then carry on. That started to get pretty embarrassing, it's not fun to nearly eat shit every time I enter the ring! I am happy to report that by the fall event, we had gotten ourselves together and had a FANTASTIC round with only 4 faults, and just a minor screwup at the swedish oxer where I took off long but Sunny added the stride (GOOD GIRL!! We need to ALWAYS add the stride if in doubt!) but she saved my butt and made it over clean. Our one rail was the first fence of a one stride vertical combination, I just had a tad too much horse coming in, I should've balanced back just a bit more and we would have had it. Regardless, I was SO FREAKING HAPPY with my round, here is the helmet cam, and you can hear my excitement at the end:)
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dwvRE3mZhds?list=UUyYwTV_qTedcpsuXII0U5SA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>Cross country this year was pretty fabulous overall. We had a few great clinics, Chase Creek was absolutely amazing as always, Leslie Law was fantastic and he commented on how far Sunny and I have come in the past few years, and up at South Peace with Sandra Donnelly we made all the
Intermediate stuff our bitch and Sunny didn't put a single foot wrong the whole time!
<p>On course for cross country 95% of the time she was pretty awesome. She was bold, brave and forward. I ended up having 3 run outs this year though, which is kind of crazy because Sunny DOES NOT STOP. She never says no, if she can physically get over the fence, she will do it. So our first run out was at the Rocky Event, I had posted the helmet cam of that way back when. It was the big wide skinny table after the long steep gallop up the hill, and I just didn't get her lined up properly so she ran out to the right, that one I took credit for, I felt like I had definitely dropped the ball as a pilot, and didn't give her much of a fighting chance to jump it. Alhambra Summer event was the second run out, at the big green and yellow corner, we had the point to the right, and she ran out to the right again. At the time I thought it was my fault again, I felt like hadn't lined her up quite well enough and could've balanced back quite a bit more on the approach, but watching the helmet cam later, my line ended up looking half decent, and the distance looked ok, so I kind of chalked it up to just shitty luck, and vowed to really work on corners and holding my line going forward.
<p>Here is my helmet cam from the summer event, with a few notable moments!
<p>2:20 is one of her famous launches, almost popping me right off, hence the "Holy Shit!", which is hilariously becoming one of my signature phrases while jumping, lol. Thank god she just goes straight on landing, that's all I can say!! 3:30 is the run out at the corner, and 6:05 is an amazing example of Sunny's usual "never say no" attitude, the wagon AB combo distance walked majorly funky, and Sunny made the executive decision mid-jump to make it a forward one stride instead of short bending 2 like I had planned. You can see from the way it was set up that the run out to the right would have been WAY easier than the awkward jump over the B element, so she gets major major awesomeness points for that.
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/e8US4Gcyi1g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>The third run out was at South Peace, which surprised me because we had such an awesome clinic there right before the event. We were having a fantastic round (minus the amazingly huge long spot at the first fence!), I made the huge 5ABC bank combination my bitch, tons of people had trouble there, and nailed the first water where there was many stops and problems too. Sunny was being super forward so we had a bit of a trip up the bounce banks, but carried one just fine. Jumped the first smaller left facing corner great at 3:10, and then we had an AB combination a few fences later, a big ramp, bending left to a right pointing corner 5 strides away at 4:10. Annnnnnnd...run out to the right again! Circled and represented, and she jumped it, and we went on to absolutely rock the 16ABCD water combo, and then the coffin right after, both caused problems for others as well. So all the hard stuff we absolutely ROCKED, and the stupid corner caught us again:P
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XAMDAFp2R_I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>Another problem we started having this year was drifting left. It would only show up every so often, but I remember at Rocky I kicked about 4 flags with my left foot throughout our cross country course. So at the summer event on XC, I carried my crop in my left hand, thinking it might fix the left drift, but we ran out right:P And even last year, I remember the odd drift left, nothing too major though. Well this year it definitely got worse at things progressed. Lots of times schooling she'd be drifting slightly left through lines and combinations, and I know my left is my weaker side so I figured it was a combination of both of us. The most dramatic example of it was at the summer Alhambra event, Sunny jumped so hard to the left over fence 1 in stadium, I didn't just kick the standard with the toe of my boot, I nailed it SO HARD with my shin and took the whole god damn thing down. Ended up with a pretty wicked bone bruise that still bugged me several months later. We managed to get it together for the rest of the course, and aside from the entire jump I took down, (Sunny didn't touch it!) we pulled out a decent round, only taking down the back rail of a max height oxer set on a short funky uphill turn, mostly because she jumped me off again over fence 4, and the huge oxer was fence 5 and I just didn't quite get it together again. :P At this time I was like "Can I seriously just keep things together for just ONE whole stadium round?? Just one!!" Really, there was always SOMETHING that happened:P
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zVSP3yOpTrQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>And then that brings us to our slightly premature end to our season. After having a decent dressage and our awesome stadium at the fall event, I was super psyched because we were sitting 3rd in the Championships and 7th overall before xc. And then we did this:
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kiOEoGt7IuQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>It was totally the shadow, Sunny just misread the jump and didn't realize it was an oxer until she was already in the air, and BAM, she managed to get her front end over but caught her back half on the back rail. Thank god she is catty as hell and didn't go down, I have seen horses go down for much less of a reason! She bolted to keep going but I could feel she wasn't right on her left hind so I immediately pulled her up and retired. Got her back to the stall and checked her over, she had bashed her left stifle and scraped it up a little bit, her back boots were all torn up, and had obtained wind puffs on her right front fetlock, but surprisingly she was no worse for wear, considering she'd almost wore a fence as a hat.
<p>I iced her stifle immediately after I untacked her, Sunny was SO PISSED, I had a big ziploc bag of ice, and I was holding it on her stifle and freezing my hands, I iced her on and off for an hour and a half right after. Sunny was so angry, she kept swinging her head around to bite me, the bitch, haha. Her stifle was pretty swollen when we got back to the barn after the event, so we had a few days of cold hosing and wrapping, and just a few days later she was having a party galloping like a crazy horse around her huge pasture, so I figured she couldn't be THAT broken. Got on her 6 days later for a hack, and she felt alright. Super stiff through her neck and back, but sound.
<p>Here's some pics. Thank god for porter boots!!
<a href="
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/3457F847-AA5D-4564-B69E-26A5F7385072-29693-000010C00A666D78_zps25a33797.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/3457F847-AA5D-4564-B69E-26A5F7385072-29693-000010C00A666D78_zps25a33797.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo
3457F847-AA5D-4564-B69E-26A5F7385072-29693-000010C00A666D78_zps25a33797.jpg" /></a>
<p>Stifle immediately after.
<a href="
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/78E5BBE7-25B7-4CD0-B658-E44D42BAA5AB-29693-000010C18CDB4D76_zpscd92d20e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/78E5BBE7-25B7-4CD0-B658-E44D42BAA5AB-29693-000010C18CDB4D76_zpscd92d20e.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo
78E5BBE7-25B7-4CD0-B658-E44D42BAA5AB-29693-000010C18CDB4D76_zpscd92d20e.jpg" /></a>
<p>Redneck icing party, haha.
<a href="
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/76271D4D-726F-4714-9F7E-835993FECD28-29693-000010C205DAADA9_zpsb0fc830d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/76271D4D-726F-4714-9F7E-835993FECD28-29693-000010C205DAADA9_zpsb0fc830d.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo
76271D4D-726F-4714-9F7E-835993FECD28-29693-000010C205DAADA9_zpsb0fc830d.jpg" /></a>
<p>Swollen stifle later that day when we arrived home.
<a href="
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/8FBAF201-67BA-472D-84BB-07E58DE2EC74-29693-000010C1D147615E_zps5bc48b22.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/8FBAF201-67BA-472D-84BB-07E58DE2EC74-29693-000010C1D147615E_zps5bc48b22.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo
8FBAF201-67BA-472D-84BB-07E58DE2EC74-29693-000010C1D147615E_zps5bc48b22.jpg" /></a>
<p>Video stills from my helmet cam.
<a href="
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/8EABB09B-1AAF-4F65-88ED-89F9B5B82730-29693-000010C15FFD1E8D_zps7dea6bc4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/8EABB09B-1AAF-4F65-88ED-89F9B5B82730-29693-000010C15FFD1E8D_zps7dea6bc4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo
8EABB09B-1AAF-4F65-88ED-89F9B5B82730-29693-000010C15FFD1E8D_zps7dea6bc4.jpg" /></a>
<p>For the following couple weeks I was just lunging lightly and hacking, she was sound but just super stiff and just felt like shit. So I basically just western ponied around on a loose rein, but wanted to keep her somewhat working. Here's a quick photo I snapped on one of our lunging days.
<a href="
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/5517E47D-3B5E-4F49-8A02-E88CE9CA7C76-29693-000010C27134B9F1_zps608dd608.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/5517E47D-3B5E-4F49-8A02-E88CE9CA7C76-29693-000010C27134B9F1_zps608dd608.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo
5517E47D-3B5E-4F49-8A02-E88CE9CA7C76-29693-000010C27134B9F1_zps608dd608.jpg" /></a>
<p>A few weeks after our last event, Sunny's chiro appointment was finally upon us! I was using a new chiropractor, who had adjusted my friend's horse and done just a fabulous job, what a difference! She showed up so I told her a bit about Sunny and what happened, and also about the drifting and run outs we'd had this summer, and walked her so she could have a look at Sunny's movement. She was very patient with Sunny, who is not the most pleasant horse to be around some days (her and her chronic bitch face, lol) but Sunny is also very good because she let the chiropractor know about every single little thing!! Right off she found 3 subluxated ribs on Sunny's right side, right under the saddle, and one was twisted. Probably like a month ago I had came across this article: http://wheredoesmyhorsehurt.com/rib-checkup.html and I was positively HORRIFIED that Sunny had still been running and jumping and trucking along despite what was probably immense pain from those ribs!! So that definitely explains the left drift, and was probably a major factor in our run outs as well. Her pelvis was also twisted a bit, her atlas was majorly out, the left side was significantly more forward than the right, and her right shoulder was locked, along with both front pasterns. I couldn't believe all the cracking and popping in her pasterns while she gently adjusted and massaged them, it's not like she was yanking or forcing anything around either, it was amazing. I had been struggling all summer with square halts, and as we progressed through the appointment, Sunny was standing more and more square as we went!! Then at the end of the appointment I went to walk her down the aisle so she could look at her movement again, and what a difference!! Tons of overtrack and Sunny's sexy walk was back!! Loose, huge and a lovely swinging back, I was SOOOOO happy!!!
<p>I gave her a few really easy loose rein rides after the appointment, then the Thursday after I actually worked her for the first time, and holy shit, what a difference! I gathered up the reins and everything was just soft like butter. I couldn't believe it. Sooooooo happy!! I really can't believe how good Sunny was this year, especially on the flat, despite all the shit she had going on. I feel really bad about that, but hindsight is always 20/20:P She obviously feels SO much better now, thank god. The mare has crazy heart, that's all I can say!!
<p>I will be better about updating this thing, I promise;)albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-57798571459985590802013-10-12T17:18:00.000-07:002013-10-15T17:12:29.758-07:00Equi In Style Shirt Review<div>
<div>
<div>
I promise I will be getting caught up on the rest of my summer soon, but I just wanted to share this with you guys! </div><br>
<div>
</div>
<div>
It's not often I get the chance to try out new or
different equestrian products. Although I compete, I am not one of the
lucky ones whose life is completely immersed in the horse world. Add me
to the long list of riders that are scraping by, we have the full time
job, a home, family, pets, bills, etc, and then we try to budget some
riding and competing in there as best we can. I love to do lots of
reading and research about the new and upcoming products in the horse
world, the therapy products, blankets, new attire for horse and rider,
the list goes on and on, but having to do all my horse stuff on a
budget, it's mostly just window shopping and wishful thinking! Which
I'm sure a lot of riders can definitely relate to! <br /><br>
</div>
<div>
When my friend Cobie at the amazing Equestrian Factory Outlet (<a href="http://www.equestrianfactoryoutlet.com/" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr></wbr>equestrianfactoryoutlet.com</a>)
here in Red Deer contacted me about trying out a new shirt she had in
stock, I was definitely up for the challenge. It was the Equi In Style
Stand Up Collar shirt, and after checking out their website (<a href="http://www.equiinstyle.com/" target="_blank">http://www.equiinstyle.com</a>) and reading a little bit about their products, I was very excited! </div><br>
<div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/eiscoolshirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/eiscoolshirt.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div><br>
Here are some of the brand's claims:<br />
<br />
• Reduces Body Temperature by 5 Degrees<br />
• Highest Level of Skin Protection – equivalent to SPF 50 UV protection<br />
• Light Weight - Breathable <br />
• Moisture Wicking - Quick Drying<br />
• Cooling Mesh Panels<br />
</div>
<div>
Since
I am a delicate Canadian girl, who starts to melt the moment the
temperature starts to hit the mid 20's, (75 F for you Americans out
there), I am forever stripping off layers and I literally live in short
sleeves and shorts in the summer. So these claims excited me. I can
honestly say I have never owned a long sleeve show shirt, and was a bit
skeptical of that part because I couldn't imagine how a long sleeve
shirt could possibly help keep me cooler in the summer.<br /><br>
</div>
<div>
The shirt pleasantly surprised me as soon as I took it out of the bag. The fabric was light, I mean <i>really</i>
light, but remained opaque even as I stretched it between my fingers.
Could this possibly be a show shirt I might not have to *always* wear a
tank top under?? And I must say the photos on the website absolutely do
not do this shirt justice, I was expecting something a little less
formal, possibly more polo-y or something that looked more like a
regular long sleeve shirt, but this was definitely a show shirt and a
very nice one at that!<br /><br>
</div>
<div>
The first time I wore it was a great test of its cooling
claims. It was at our Alhambra Summer event, that runs over 3 days in
the middle of August, which is typically our hottest month. The weather
was gorgeous, dry, sunny, and over 30 degrees each day. As soon as I
put the shirt on I couldn't believe how light and airy the shirt was,
and the fabric was stretchy and very comfortable. Even under my show
jacket I could still feel an obvious cool "breeze" against my skin where
the mesh was all along the arms. I loved how long the sleeves were,
and that perfect half inch of cuff stuck out of the bottom of my sleeve
once I put my show jacket on! Luckily my divisions went earlier in the
day, but I usually am still frantically stripping off my hot and sweaty
show clothes the moment I arrive back at the trailer after my rides. I
didn't even realize it until partway through the day, that I was still
in my show shirt, long sleeves and all, while I was walking my cross
country course! I had several people comment over the weekend "Oh my
god! How are you wearing long sleeves?!" The shirt honestly kept me
far cooler than the short sleeved t-shirts I usually wear. Needless to
say, I was absolutely amazed that this little long sleeved thing kept me
dry and cool all day in that heat! I've worn the shirt at every other
event I had this year. There were a
couple days with really cool weather where I had an early morning
dressage time, and I wondered if I would be a bit chilly or feel drafty
under my show jacket, but I was very comfortable. Wearing it around
I've received lots of questions and many compliments on it as well.<br />
</div><br>
<div>
In short, I LOVE IT!! And definitely would recommend them to anyone in the market for a great show shirt!<br />
</div><br>
<div>
A
few other things, I love the slightly textured
fabric. It stays clean very easily, dirt tends to brush right off
instead of getting ground in. Another plus is that there's no fancy
laundry instructions, just throw in the washer and dryer, no fuss or
extra effort required! I've washed the shirt several times already, it
had held up so great and still looks brand new.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/C5CCA0BD-DC3D-40C1-AABD-A70FEB2F06AD-3292-000001F58E0183F5_zpsa4bcf2eb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/C5CCA0BD-DC3D-40C1-AABD-A70FEB2F06AD-3292-000001F58E0183F5_zpsa4bcf2eb.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div><br>
As far as price, Equi In Style shirts are definitely a
more affordable option compared to some of the competitors with similar
products (Fits, etc).<br /><br>
</div>
<div>
Huge thanks to Cobie at
Equestrian Factory Outlet for introducing me to such a great product.
Everyone should check out her facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Equestrian-Factory-Outlet-Red-Deer/633329790014149 </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-88656355078365796842013-07-21T15:13:00.001-07:002013-07-21T15:13:21.937-07:00Dressage Schooling Show - Success!!Yesterday morning we headed out to Alhambra for their summer schooling show. They were doing dressage and jumpers yesterday, and hunters and a derby today. I just wanted some mileage in the dressage ring though, so we did 3 tests, eventing training #2, and 2 tests riding the eventing prelim test #2, since that's the one we're doing at the rest of the events this year.<br />
<br />
Sunny was SO GOOD!! I knew something was up when I mounted up about an hour before our ride times, and went over for tack check, usually she FREAKS when they go to put a finger in her mouth to check the bit and will NOT stand still. But she just stood there on a loose rein and didn't move a muscle! Kris came out too, I had him armed with water and lots of treats. We did a very minimal warm up, she was being very good, nice and relaxed, so we did about 15 mins, and then we just chilled and I hacked her around a little bit, then I did another 5 or 10 mins right before we headed up to the ring. It was HOT out as well, so I didn't want to tire her out too much.<br />
<br />
The training test was first. We ROCKED it! I haven't ridden that test in about a year and a half, but as soon as I started it, I remember why I loved it! Just a great test, lots of time in between all the movements, and it just flows really nice. I was shocked at how nice and relaxed Sunny was throughout the whole test. THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WORKING SO HARD FOR!! I was SO happy!!<br />
<br />
Had a few horses in between each of my tests which was nice. Both prelim tests rode really well for the most part. Sunny was so relaxed she was almost a little dull, but compare that to what she's usually like, hot and up and so over reactive to the point of explosion a lot of the time, having a bit dull was really nice!! Our lengthenings were extremely conservative, but she was being so good I wasn't going to kick or goose her and cause a tantrum. Same with our leg yield, she wasn't really crossing over like she usually does, so got some lower marks for those. Had a bit of tenseness in our canter, as you'll see in the videos, but she settled fairly quickly afterwards, so that was definitely an improvement over our bucking fits at Rocky for sure! Lol. But overall SO much better than the<br />
previous events this year!!
<br />
<h4>
<b> </b></h4>
<h4>
<b>AND HOLY SHIT GUYS WE GOT 8'S!!!!!!!!!! :D</b></h4>
<h4>
<b> </b></h4>
Our enter down centerline got 8's on all 3 tests, we had all three halts at the end DEAD SQUARE, and got 8's for those as well! I couldn't believe it when I watched the videos, we literally NEVER have a square halt! Considering at Beaumont we basically did not even HAVE a halt at the end, I was pretty happy! Had a super free walk in 2 of the tests, 8's for that too, and a couple 8 for our trot in there as well! SO HAPPY GUYS OMFG!!!! I'm so glad I thought to bring treats, Sunny got some during our awesome warm up, and after each test as well, I was so thrilled with how good she was being! Our next event is at Alhambra in the same sand ring, so hopefully the positive reinforcement carries over for dressage there too:)<br />
<br />
The judge stopped me to talk after my last test. Said she really like our partnership, that Sunny was lovely (!!!!) and that we work extremely well together. Said I needed to use my half halts more, to better prepare and organize for transitions and they would become smoother and more relaxed. Also suggested to ask stronger and be more concise with the lengthenings, as they were all really conservative in all three tests. I mentioned that I was trying not to rock the boat too much because we are usually quite "exciting" in dressage, but was trying to find a happy medium, and she laughed and said she understood, and to keep working on it:) I was really happy overall with the judge's comments! For once I came away from dressage feeling really good about what we'd done, not upset or embarrassed or relieved to have just gotten it over with, and I was SO happy with Sunny and myself:)<br />
<br />
I picked up my tests as soon as they were ready but didn't stick around for placings or ribbons. That's not what I was there for, and it didn't matter anyways, all I wanted just some good positive rides in the ring. I got 64% on the training test, and 60% and 63% on the prelim tests!! Considering at Beaumont our horrible test was a 44% and Rocky was definitely better but still just a 56%, I was pretty thrilled!!<br />
<br />
64%<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mWrxgUDDPmk" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
60%<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sgA84zne7_s" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
63% This test would have been super awesome had we not totally blown the simple change to right lead canter:P<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zh6n_wPP188" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
I still see a million things I want to fix with my position. I'm trying to not be *too* critical though because I know I have gotten lots better position wise than I was, say, a year ago, but there is *always* room for improvement!!
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-54021824303841978942013-07-17T18:53:00.003-07:002013-07-17T18:53:38.578-07:00Thompson Country Horse TrialsAnother event come and gone! This summer is going SO fast already:P I was super excited for this one because it didn't run last year, but is probably my favorite event in Alberta! It is gorgeous, an actual 3 day, and the cross country is tough and hilly, LOTS of fun! My parents were able to drive down to watch, so it was super awesome to see them:)<br />
<br />
Dressage was Friday. They ran my division first thing in the morning again, but at least we started at 9am this time, not 8! We had a decent flat school Thursday night when we arrived, which was good. Our warm up was pretty good. Sunny was kind of randomly focusing, she'd be going lovely, then have a bit of a bucking fit, then go right back to work.
Our test was decent! Trot work was MUCH improved since Beaumont. More relaxation overall as well! We even got 7's on our leg yields!! It's so sad, I get excited when I get 7's, where as more people are more excited about 8's, lol. I'll take it!! Canter work wasn't the greatest, Sunny decided to interlude with a few bucking fits in there, which I thought was hilarious. But she'd have a moment, then go right back to work, then have a moment, then go back to work. Instead of the whole test being like "AHHHHH WE'RE DOING A THING!!!!", it was kind of up and down, but it was BETTER!!! Had a lovely hunter like stretchy circle at the end, wish we would have had a bit more stretch down, but it was consistent on the circle where as she usually fusses a bit. And we HAD A HALT!!!! :D Yay!! So I was pretty happy overall, TONS better than at Beaumont!!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_9898.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9898.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_9898.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_9902.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9902.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_9902.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_9906-1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9906-1.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_9906-1.jpg" /></a>
Oh Sunny, lol.<br />
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_9956.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9956.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_9956.jpg" /></a>
I LOOOOOOVE this photo!!!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_9972.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9972.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_9972.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_9979.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9979.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_9979.jpg" /></a><br />
Walked our cross country course after dressage. It was big, long, twisty turny, TONS of terrain, and aside from the first couple fences, pretty much *nothing* was really straight forward or a gimme. Even most of the galloping fences were on an uphill or downhill, or on a bit of an angle, or pointing at a tree or into the bush, etc. Definitely our toughest test to date! It was going to require a TON of super accurate riding, and I was SO excited!!!!! :D<br />
<br />
Check out the CourseWalk! <a href="http://en.mycoursewalk.com/course_walk/show/1374" target="_blank">http://en.mycoursewalk.com/course_walk/show/1374 </a><br />
<br />
Our run was pretty wicked!! I knew that if I rode well and accurately, Sunny would easily rise to the occasion! We started out alright, Sunny launched a crazy long spot at 2, so I really rode the deep distance for the next couple fences. Need to work on straightness though, she's starting to duck to the left really badly again, most pronounced when I ask her to add, as you'll see. Mostly just due to me being lazy about getting her totally straight because she's so god damn honest, and my left side is definitely weaker, so we'll have to work on that. Had a few awkward jumps in there, Sunny totally saved my ass a few times, like 12 and 13 where I basically didn't see anything for a distance and she took right over and got it done! The only real problem we had was fence 18, we had a long steep uphill gallop which was pretty much blind going up, and then a left turn, maybe 2 strides to a big wide table that was also a skinny. And we galloped up and I swung a bit too much to the right and didn't get the line and just didn't get the turn done. So we kind of blew by it:P Then I went to circle around to re-present, and I was like "Shit!! How the hell are we going to get over that??" Cuz it was big and on an awkward angle at the top of the hill, and there was basically no room to approach, so I circled around as best I could and trotted Sunny at it, threw the reins at her and clucked and was like "DEAR LORD PLEASE JUMP THIS!!" and she totally did!!! What a good girl, seriously!! Then carried on, the rest of the course was no problem, I was definitely getting tired towards the end though, you'll see on the videos when I kind of tip forward through the water:P That was just fatigue:P (Lots to work on before the next event, for both Sunny AND myself!) And I was galloping up to the last jump absolutely shocked and AMAZED that my watch was beeping down the last 10 seconds, WE TOTALLY MADE TIME!!!!!!!! :D I wasn't even pushing either, I just decided that I was going to just let Sunny cruise around. We were the only ones to make time, I was pretty happy about that!!<br />
<br />
Super thrilled with our run overall, would have liked a do over at 18, but shit happens and it was totally my fault. just a few little things to work on there and we'll nail it next time! Everyone had a stop on course except 2 people. It was pretty crazy. Such a crazy awesome course, I LOVED it and it was such a blast to ride!!<br />
<br />
Only got a few photos of cross country, since it was mostly through the trees and stuff.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_9991.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9991.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_9991.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0001.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0001.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0001.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0014.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0014.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0014.jpg" /></a>
Short video of us through the water, you can see me kind of tip forward right after the second fence:P
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/o2E1aLai1_Q" width="560"></iframe>
And the helmet cam!!! Sorry for the yelling at those random people, I wasn't really in the mood to kill someone with my horse that day:P<br />
<br />
<br />
I was a bit nervous for stadium, just because SOMETHING always seems to go wrong. The course looked fun though, and it was a blast to ride! It actually went REALLY well! In terms of relaxation and rideability, Sunny was spot on! She seemed just a touch tired, and didn't have her usual punch to her jump, but that was good in a way because she wasn't jumping me out of the tack for once!! Was one of those courses though where it seemed like everything everyone touched in the slightest, came down. So while I was really happy with the ride, we had several minor rubs, and they all came down:P Sunny definitely punched out the top plank of the last fence pretty good, but with all the rubs we ended up with a horrifying 5 rails down:P But everyone else had tons of rails too though, so it wasn't just me. So regardless of all the rails, I was happy! I was much more relaxed and actually riding too, so I felt a lot better about that as well.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0031.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0031.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0031.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0033.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0033.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0033.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0036.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0036.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0036.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0043.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0043.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0043.jpg" /></a>
EVERYONE had the zebra jump down:P
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0046.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0046.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0046.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0050.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0050.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0050.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/C0CE5E1E-3413-41F6-A41A-B0FF8E100EDE-26585-00002ABB25DA9760.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo C0CE5E1E-3413-41F6-A41A-B0FF8E100EDE-26585-00002ABB25DA9760.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/C0CE5E1E-3413-41F6-A41A-B0FF8E100EDE-26585-00002ABB25DA9760.jpg" /></a>
Actual video, just ignore all those rails coming down:P
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/elPbXUR_830" width="560"></iframe><br />
And the helmet cam.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ribbon shots, haha.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/Thompson2013/aDSC_0111.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_0111.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/Thompson2013/aDSC_0111.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/E2143EA6-366C-431F-991E-2D47F3766EC1-26585-00002ABBC8266E8E.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo E2143EA6-366C-431F-991E-2D47F3766EC1-26585-00002ABBC8266E8E.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/E2143EA6-366C-431F-991E-2D47F3766EC1-26585-00002ABBC8266E8E.jpg" /></a>
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-50873381298888618372013-07-09T18:42:00.000-07:002013-07-09T18:42:00.697-07:00Chase Creek Clinic-The Abbreviated Edition!<div>
I'm bulk posting these photos and sharing the videos just because my life has been kinda crazy and I don't want to keep putting it off any longer. I will do a proper update on everything soon, I promise!
I do have some fairly entertaining crash photos to post at a later date as well, as well as more of an actual write up on the clinic. It was amazing!!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9386.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9386.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9386.jpg" /></a>
Day 1 was rainy so Kris just took videos. The last 3 clips were from other days but it was just easier to put them all together.</div>
<lj-embed id="985">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/B5FrvQT-VQ4?wmode=opaque" width="560"></iframe>
</lj-embed><br />
<div>
Day 2...</div>
<center>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Oh Sunny, always a fan of the long spot:P
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9311.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9311.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9311.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9315.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9315.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9315.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9336.jpg.html" target="_blank">We did lots of work with skinnies during the clinic.
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9336.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9336.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9341.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9341.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9341.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9344.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9344.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9344.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9352.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9352.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9352.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9356.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9356.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9356.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9379.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9379.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9379.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9386.jpg.html" target="_blank">Day 2 helmet cam videos. Please excuse my ridiculous fall right at the beginning, that's what I get for not having enough gas and keeping Sunny up in front of my leg where she's supposed to be!!</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9386.jpg.html" target="_blank"><lj-embed id="986">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1oh7vvsb4Lw?wmode=opaque" width="560"></iframe>
</lj-embed></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9409.jpg.html" target="_blank">Day 3...
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9409.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9409.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9415.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9415.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9415.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9439.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9439.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9439.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9464.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9464.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9464.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9468.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9468.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9468.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9469.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9469.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9469.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9527.jpg.html" target="_blank">HUGE brush jump!!!!! :D
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9527.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9527.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9567.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9567.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9567.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9569.jpg.html" target="_blank">Day 3 helmet cam videos...</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9569.jpg.html" target="_blank"><lj-embed id="987">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bHX2Vn1mz98?wmode=opaque" width="560"></iframe>
</lj-embed></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9569.jpg.html" target="_blank">This hammock ROCKS. Best $60 I've spent!
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9569.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9569.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9581.jpg.html" target="_blank">Sunny and Kris having some chill time:)<img alt=" photo aDSC_9581.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9581.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9592.jpg.html" target="_blank">I took the opportunity to get a few glamour shots, haha.
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9592.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9592.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9593.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9593.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9593.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9596.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9596.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9596.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9602.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9602.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9602.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9635.jpg.html" target="_blank">Lovely rainbow♥
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9635.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9635.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9650.jpg.html" target="_blank">Day 4...
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9650.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9650.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9651.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9651.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9651.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9673.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9673.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9673.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9676.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9676.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9676.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9682.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9682.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9682.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9687.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9687.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9687.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9693.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9693.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9693.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9695.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9695.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9695.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9726.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9726.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9726.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9728.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9728.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9728.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9755.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9755.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9755.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9773.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9773.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9773.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9787.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9787.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9787.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9799.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9799.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9799.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9806.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9806.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9806.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9821.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9821.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9821.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9832.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9832.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9832.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9835.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9835.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9835.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9857.jpg.html" target="_blank">Day 4 helmet cam videos...</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9857.jpg.html" target="_blank"><lj-embed id="988">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9skKJNypDCo?wmode=opaque" width="560"></iframe>
</lj-embed></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9857.jpg.html" target="_blank">On the way home, love the mountains!
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9857.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9857.jpg" /></a></div>
</center>
<center>
<div style="text-align: left;">
A few shots of Sunny and I in the creek. Sunny LOVES the creek there. I can stand her in it, throw the lead rope over her back and just walk away!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9261.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9261.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9261.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9273.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9273.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9273.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9282.jpg.html" target="_blank">Our humble setup.
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9282.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9282.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9288.jpg.html" target="_blank">Mr Deer passed by for a quick visit!
<img alt=" photo aDSC_9288.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/ChaseCreek/aDSC_9288.jpg" /></a></div>
</center>
<div>
This new bulk share capability on photobucket really is the shiznit though!</div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
Anyways. So in short it was super awesome and I didn't ever want to leave!
They just announced that after 10 years of not running an event, they are finally running one there next spring on May long!! To do the CIC*, or CCI*? That is the question!!! :D</div>
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-79907396566930433542013-06-16T18:52:00.000-07:002013-06-16T18:52:44.213-07:00Beaumont Horse TrialsWe headed out to the event on Friday after work. We arrived, I tacked up and went for a quick ride, just went and did a little bit of flat work in the warm up area, Sunny was FABULOUS. Relaxed and lovely, it was so nice!! I had braided the night before so I didn't have much to do after I rode, took a quick walk around some of the cross country course, and then I studied my dressage test a little bit, then went to bed.
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P"> </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">We were one of the first few in for dressage in the morning, so I was up super early. I don't sleep well away from home, so it's pretty much just a fact that I get little to no sleep when I'm away at events:P Was hopeful about having better dressage this year since we have been working super hard over the winter and made lots of progress, and Sunny had been so good the night before, and I got on and she was like "ZOMG GUYS WE'RE DOING A THING!!!!!!" Just freaking WIRED. Great, so much for having a good dressage test:P </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">I just kept the warm up as low key as possible, despite her being pretty tense and fractious. Lots of circles and bending at the walk and trot, just trying to get her to relax and settle a bit, and I didn't canter until right before they called me over, because I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. They had the dressage warm up behind the judges, and then to enter at A you had to ride out into the cross country field, and there were jumps RIGHT THERE by A. So Sunny totally lost her mind when we went down to enter, I circled as many times as I dared after they blew the whistle for me to enter, but finally I knew I was cutting it close time wise so I just entered and started my test. The first part actually went alright, considering. Sunny was super tense but we managed to pull out a bunch of 6's and our medium trot across the diagonal was really nice and I got a 7 for that. The canter was messy, she picked up the wrong lead initially but I corrected it and our counter canter wasn't as relaxed as we should have been but it was ok. Actually had a square halt and decent rein back at C, and then we were back at super tense Sunny again. The last half of the test was mediocre, the trot work was passable and the canter erratic and rushed, Sunny was still tense and fussy, and then we turned down centerline to halt and salute, and Sunny just decided she was DONE. She would NOT halt and stand. She immediately started backing up and swinging her ass around, had her head in the air and was threatening to rear, and I put both legs on hard and was quietly correcting her, trying to direct her back up to X so I could salute. And correcting her. And correcting her. She would NOT stand, even for a second. I knew if I circled her I would probably get whistled for an error, so after nearly two minutes of just trying to get her to halt and stand, seriously it felt like FOREVER, I was pretty much at the end of my rope. I had both my legs on her so hard and she would NOT go forward AT ALL. It was getting to the point where I was afraid she was going to back right out of the arena and then we'd get eliminated. So I grabbed both the reins in one hand and swung the end of my reins and nailed Sunny on the shoulder with them. She immediately snapped back down to earth, and we walked up, halted, and I saluted.
I knew right away I shouldn't have done that, but absolutely nothing I was doing was working, and it really was a last resort at that point. </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">The judge got out of her truck and I walked over and she said that she knew and understood it was a last ditch attempt when things just weren't working, but that I should be aware that it was something I could possibly get a red card for if I did it again. I apologized and thanked her for letting me know, and headed out of the ring. I immediately headed back into the warm up and did another 15 mins of trot work, once Sunny had settled a bit and gave me some satisfactory work, I called it a day. </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">So I was pretty disappointed with our test. Just super frustrating because dressage has always been our weak point, and I had been working so hard on it over the winter, Sunny really has come so far from last year, and I feel like we both have improved so much, and I was really hoping we'd come out and have our hard work pay off with a decent test. Then when we get out there where it really counts, and it's all for naught. Relaxation will always be our biggest hurdle to overcome, we obviously have a lot more work to do there.<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9017.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9017.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9017.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_8977.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_8977.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_8977.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_8946.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_8946.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_8946.jpg" /></a> </lj-cut><br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">Stadium was extremely tight and windy and on grass, which I hadn't expected, and Sunny was barefoot, so I had decided to just take my time and go a little wide where I could to prevent any slips hopefully, and just see how it went.</lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">My round started out alright. Fence 1 and 2 rode fine, we got a bit tight to fence 1 and rubbed the front rail and it came down. After fence 2 you had a 90 degree turn to the right and a short uphill approach to a big oxer, set a couple strides out from stand of trees, so you had to land and immediately steer to the right to miss the trees. Well, Sunny chose that jump to do her what is now becoming customary random 1.35m jump out of nowhere, and nearly jumped me right off of her. THANK GOD her default is to just go straight, no matter what I'm doing up there, and I managed to land back on top of her more or less, and she kept cantering like nothing was wrong. She whoaed when I asked her to, and I got myself reorganized, we had to circle to re-establish the canter so we got 4 faults there for crossing our path. Carried on to fence 4, and then Sunny jumped super huge again over fence 5, another big oxer. Then we were coming downhill to a one stride of 2 tall verticals. It had walked a bit long to me during the course walk, and the rider before me had come in super slow to it, getting 2 super awkward strides in there. So instead of making an executive decision and balancing down the hill and putting my leg on to support the one stride in there, I did nothing. Sunny came in on her forehand with not much gas in her engine, and chipped in big time to the first fence, hitting the top rail with her knees and shot it out in front of her in the process. We could have probably saved it if not for that rail, but Sunny veered to the left to miss the flying rail and I was pulling her to a stop because she was lined up with the standard, not the rails, but it obviously wasn't a definite enough stop, because Sunny tried to jump from there anyways, absolutely demolishing the jump in the process. It was a total yard sale. It was all me, totally my fault, I'm so stupid sometimes. The judge whistled , and the crew rushed out to rebuild the jump.
Once they got the jump back up I circled and carried on, and actually started RIDING, and the rest of the course was very awesome. I just wish I had ridden like that right from the start!</lj-cut><br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P"><lj-embed id="983">
</lj-embed> </lj-cut><br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">Fence 2
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9097.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9097.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9097.jpg" /></a> </lj-cut><br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">
Fence 4
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9104.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9104.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9104.jpg" /></a>
Fence 5
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9107.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9107.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9107.jpg" /></a>
Fence 9
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9129.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9129.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9129.jpg" /></a> </lj-cut><br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">Cross country looked pretty straightforward. I wasn't worried about anything in particular really, even if we yard sale everything else at the event, cross country is where I know Sunny and I are going to come out and ROCK IT. It's so stupid, the easy things are SO hard for us, and we make the hard shit look easy. </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">Overall my goal was to go out and have a nice flowing cross country round, take things down a notch and reinforce everything we've been working on over the winter. Rhythm, relaxation, waiting. We all KNOW Sunny can gallop like hell and make time anywhere, we know she's super bold to the point of stupidity and will jump anything in front of her. But I want to have everything else in between, the galloping, rating, the control. THAT is what I've been working so hard on. And we did not disappoint! </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">Here is our course walk for those interested: <a href="http://en.mycoursewalk.com/course_walk/show/1278" target="_blank">http://en.mycoursewalk.com/course_walk/show/1278</a> </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">We warmed up and then headed up to the start box. Sunny was super wiggly to the first 3 fences, probably because I wasn't letting her gallop right out like normal, but she settled in and relaxed and we were golden. I heard my watch beeping during my round but just ignored it, I was just riding for the experience, I wanted to get things right, for ME. Sunny was fantastic. She was waiting and added a stride where I wanted to add, I rode forward and she went and took the long when I asked, she locked onto everything and jumped it no problem, but was in tune with me and listening, not fighting. It was awesome. THAT is what I've been working so hard for!! We easily went clear, but got a bunch of time penalties since we were going training speed (450 mpm) which was fine with me. With our less than stellar rides on Saturday we were not in any sort of real contention for a ribbon, so it was more just a schooling round for us. I was very happy with our round though. Sunny is such a super star, we had only schooled a little bit of cross country once this spring, but cross country is her thing, it's so easy for her, I wasn't worried at all. </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Cut, cuz this got REALLY long:P">Fence 2
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9164.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9164.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9164.jpg" /></a>
Fence 10, the anvil
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9171.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9171.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9171.jpg" /></a>
Me over fence 11, the big table...
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/3005CBF4-3CF2-4150-B536-166885F3C40D-9183-00000D8B3A576D42-1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 3005CBF4-3CF2-4150-B536-166885F3C40D-9183-00000D8B3A576D42-1.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/3005CBF4-3CF2-4150-B536-166885F3C40D-9183-00000D8B3A576D42-1.jpg" /></a>
And us over it...
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9172.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9172.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9172.jpg" /></a>
Fence 14, the jump on the hill, and we did add a stride and jumped it perfectly:)
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9179.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9179.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9179.jpg" /></a>
Fence 15
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9185.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9185.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9185.jpg" /></a>
Galloping!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9190.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9190.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9190.jpg" /></a>
Last fence!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9197.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9197.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9197.jpg" /></a>
And done:)
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/aDSC_9201.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo aDSC_9201.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/aDSC_9201.jpg" /></a>
</lj-cut>
And of course the cross country helmet cam.
<lj-embed id="984">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/asTBAFDnzWk?wmode=opaque" width="560"></iframe>
</lj-embed><br />
<br />
So we were able to end the weekend on a positive note fortunately. I ended up finishing 5th and got a ribbon. I definitely didn't feel like I deserved a ribbon though, especially based on my rides Saturday, but that's the beauty of small divisions though, and ending on a number and not a letter is always better than nothing I guess. We have a whole bunch of things to work on now before our next event July 12-14, but we have lots of time so I'm not going to stress too much. It will all come together eventually!<br />
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-61770123506456671402013-06-14T19:36:00.000-07:002013-06-14T19:36:33.472-07:00Paramount Jump Into Summer Show!I've been super busy lately and didn't get a chance to post that I entered out very first jumper show a few weeks ago, on a total whim. It was quite an adventure and nothing like I'd expected, and we totally won the class!!!! :D<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/946BAF5B-878A-4014-9C87-C9A0B462D346-842-0000009A1E815DD7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/946BAF5B-878A-4014-9C87-C9A0B462D346-842-0000009A1E815DD7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I still have no idea how we pulled that one off, the show was running so late and it was getting dark so fast! Sunny was absolutely neurotic for our warm up and then she jumped SO HUGE over the first 2 jumps in the course, she surprised the crap out of me and I don't know how I didn't totally lose my stirrups or just fly right off!! I heard later from a lady watching that those first 2 overjumps could have easily cleared 1.35m...uh, ok Sunny the overachiever! We made it around and somehow went clear, and we NEVER go clear! I was such a mix of frazzled and entertained by the whole situation, and surprised, I didn't even stick around for the ribbons and then my coach walked into the stabling right after and yelled my name and held out a ribbon and I was like "WHAT IS THAT?" And she was like "You won!" And I was like "HOW???" Lol. Then I grabbed it and looked at it and realized it was red and said 1st, and I still can't even believe it! Soooo I was pretty over the moon about it, and so thrilled with Sunny, she's such a little trooper and so good about just going with the flow! She was so bold and was totally taking me to everything, but was still listening to me, god I love my horse!!!<br />
<br />
And the highly entertaining helmet cam I have to share. I have edited out the profanity, you'll have to excuse me, but I was pretty darn surprised with those first 2 HUGE jumps!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/sO1VM4xD8lM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-71420833016156254422013-05-20T17:34:00.001-07:002013-05-23T18:32:22.042-07:00First XC School of the Spring!I've had a pretty hectic past couple weeks! I have been riding almost every day, and it's been awesome! Usually on riding nights by the time I get home and find something to eat, it's pretty much bedtime! Between riding and camping this weekend for May long, I hadn't touched our computer since last Monday!<br />
<br />
Our first time going cross country this year went well! We went out to Alhambra the other week and did a pretty simple and straightforward school for our first time out, we were riding with our local course designer, who also gives clinics and is a great coach.
We started out with some stadium jumps and grids to warm up, and Sunny was pretty excited to be out there but already I had noticed she was so much more rideable compared to last year! Feels like all that hard work over the winter is paying off!<br />
<br />
Worked out some kinks on the first few xc jumps, establishing a better pace and rhythm and staying straight, not popping those darn shoulders like she'll do on the way from the start box to the first fence! Sunny's gotten lots better about waiting and not just bolting at everything like she'd rather do! Carried on to some simpler combinations, we did a bunch of jumps on uphills and downhills, and then we did some bending and angled lines, and then incorporating the little training level corner. Ended by trotting some little ditches and had a couple nice canters through the water and over the bounce logs. Didn't do anything too demanding, jumped most of the training stuff and a few prelim jumps, was a good easy way to start off the year:)<br />
<br />
Had a bit of an entertaining whoops moment during our ride, there's this steep-ish hill we were schooling jumps on. I was doing the little entry roll top at the top, then a few strides down to a prelim log pile skinny which was mid-hill, then a narrower faux "corner" at the bottom that training level jumped, and it was kind of a shallow S bending line to jump all 3. Well, Sunny, being the independent thinker that she is, decided to disregard my asking her to come back and wait to the first jump at the top, so she kind of hesitated, was going to add a stride but then decided to take off long. So we had the most awkward semi-jump/trip/stumble on the landing side, I lost my reins and a stirrup and Sunny regained her footing right away and kept on going, I had grabbed one rein back and we jumped the skinny no problem, and it was only a few strides to the faux corner so I just sat tight and kept my leg on and she hopped right over that too. I halted on a straight line after and then was just shaking my head and laughing at our disaster of a combination as I trotted back to the group, and our coach was all excited and was like "Holy shit, that was AWESOME!!! Wicked recovery, way to get it done!!!" Hell, that's what me and Sunny are good at, sometimes the simplest things are the hardest for us, and we may not be the prettiest or smoothest ride sometimes, but damn it we GET IT DONE. And it's pretty much automatic for me to just sit back and let the reins go when something happens, it's saved my ass a few times I'm sure, haha. In my happy world we would get everything perfect first time around, but that's not how things go with horses, as we all know!We came right back around to the same combination and rode it perfectly the next time though:) I love that Sunny never gets nervous or flustered when shit happens, which honestly isn't very often thank god, it's just something I've noticed over the years. She'll trip over the ditch in the coffin or miss the bank out of the water with a front hoof and stumble the odd time, but then she comes right back around like nothing even happened and we'll nail it second time around. She's pretty awesome:)<br />
<br />
Other than that one blooper, Sunny was awesome and we had a great ride!
So I think if I can get out and school cross country one more time, we'll be set for the first event at Beaumont June 8th and 9th. Beaumont is pretty straightforward as far as prelim goes, but does have some bigger tables and things so I want to make sure I hop over some stuff like that a time or two before we get out there. Been getting regular jump lessons the past few weeks too, and I've been pretty happy with our stadium work lately, we just need to start raising the jumps now to get back to the height we were doing last year.<br />
<br />
A few pics from our cross country school down at Alhambra!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/A8DC1641-FD6D-4E81-9BE9-6D72B04B10A8-642-0000018908EA3574.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo A8DC1641-FD6D-4E81-9BE9-6D72B04B10A8-642-0000018908EA3574.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/A8DC1641-FD6D-4E81-9BE9-6D72B04B10A8-642-0000018908EA3574.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/29E82F23-4DE8-4954-97C5-907F1B95C9D9-642-00000188F892C9DB.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 29E82F23-4DE8-4954-97C5-907F1B95C9D9-642-00000188F892C9DB.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/29E82F23-4DE8-4954-97C5-907F1B95C9D9-642-00000188F892C9DB.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/FB13206C-4353-41F9-8CB9-945FBBF007B5-642-00000188EF171640.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo FB13206C-4353-41F9-8CB9-945FBBF007B5-642-00000188EF171640.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/FB13206C-4353-41F9-8CB9-945FBBF007B5-642-00000188EF171640.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/144667AE-0D52-407F-B1D4-033D8FE1A2F3-642-00000188E627AC84.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 144667AE-0D52-407F-B1D4-033D8FE1A2F3-642-00000188E627AC84.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/144667AE-0D52-407F-B1D4-033D8FE1A2F3-642-00000188E627AC84.jpg" /></a><br />
And Sunny looking all huntery, while my leg is still slipping back into last week, ugh:P
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/61D3EBF0-3515-4C49-87D7-C1B16470AC65-642-00000188DC0196B0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 61D3EBF0-3515-4C49-87D7-C1B16470AC65-642-00000188DC0196B0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/61D3EBF0-3515-4C49-87D7-C1B16470AC65-642-00000188DC0196B0.jpg" /></a><br />
Getting some grazing time in after our xc school!
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/CEAFB683-0EBE-4F5C-8D69-BACBC3F58F26-642-00000188C89AFB39.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo CEAFB683-0EBE-4F5C-8D69-BACBC3F58F26-642-00000188C89AFB39.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/CEAFB683-0EBE-4F5C-8D69-BACBC3F58F26-642-00000188C89AFB39.jpg" /></a><br />
I took some pics over the winter to document Sunny's neck muscling, since she has always had a huge dip in front of her withers, and generally just the crappiest topline ever, and FINALLY I feel like I've been getting somewhere with it! This is from back in December, this was when I started to notice the dip being not as prominent.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/PC130108-1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo PC130108-1.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/PC130108-1.jpg" /></a><br />
And this pic was from last week, her neck looks so much more muscled now. To me anyways! I need to take some full body shots to really compare.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/C928B053-9196-4DCD-B584-ED0C4DDFF4A9-642-00000189492B5A27.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo C928B053-9196-4DCD-B584-ED0C4DDFF4A9-642-00000189492B5A27.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/C928B053-9196-4DCD-B584-ED0C4DDFF4A9-642-00000189492B5A27.jpg" /></a><br />
Our awesome conditioning ride from last Saturday in the big field:) Did about 4 miles of walk, then 2 trot, 2 canter. Did all the canter and a bunch of the trot in 2 point as well, and I'm happy to report that I wasn't totally dead afterwards! Need to keep that up for sure:) Sunny is actually crazy fit coming out of the winter, I'm pretty happy with where she's at right now.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/FA030CC3-396B-4500-8338-535E1D0966B1-642-00000189245BB0DC.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo FA030CC3-396B-4500-8338-535E1D0966B1-642-00000189245BB0DC.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/FA030CC3-396B-4500-8338-535E1D0966B1-642-00000189245BB0DC.jpg" /></a>
albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7122074024886968487.post-76731105016350415152013-05-08T18:45:00.000-07:002013-05-08T18:45:31.926-07:00Is It Spring??So last Thursday a bunch of us headed over to Horse In Hand Ranch again to jump lesson there. Sunny was AWESOME. Like seriously super awesome, relaxed, listening, everything I need her to be. My coach had me raise my stirrups up a hole and actually carry my hands, and those little things made a world of difference! I'm so used to Sunny screwing around while jumping, that I had totally gotten into the habit of just bracing into her neck with my hands for like 3 or 4 strides on the landing side, because that's when she'd flip, is right after a fence. Jesus what a difference once I picked my hands up and actually RODE instead of just sitting there!<br />
<br />
Look!! No crazy helicopter tail!! :D
<lj-embed id="981">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sxLwSnrvelk?list=UUyYwTV_qTedcpsuXII0U5SA&wmode=opaque" width="560"></iframe>
</lj-embed><br />
<br />
Sunny's been REALLY good lately. The barn has finally opened up the field, I've been doing lots of flatwork out there, going to start some actual conditioning work in a couple days! I can't believe how much Sunny has changed over the winter. WE ALMOST HAVE A NECK!!! She's actually super muscley and really fit coming out of the winter, this really has been the winter of dressage!. But her canter is amazing now! She can slow down and sit right down, and stay balanced, her trot is so much better, and she's really starting to lift her back! When I'm riding I'm always going "Wait, is she pooping?" and looking back, because that is exactly what it feels like, haha. Soooooo much progress, I'm super excited for eventing this summer! It's exactly one month till Beaumont, the first event, and I send my entries in the other day!!!! :D
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/9CF916EA-46D1-4A62-ADB1-68A65070AA2C-27562-00002C1835BAF29C.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 9CF916EA-46D1-4A62-ADB1-68A65070AA2C-27562-00002C1835BAF29C.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/9CF916EA-46D1-4A62-ADB1-68A65070AA2C-27562-00002C1835BAF29C.jpg" /></a><br />
Tomorrow I'm going to school cross country for the first time this year!! Yay!! A friend and I are heading down to Alhambra tomorrow after work, I am super excited:)<br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Mostly Horses...">This was from the schooling day at Horse In Hand, what a gorgeous facility! Sunny and her paddock buddy Uma, on the left, were chilling in style after our ride:)
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/2F2ABD07-3DE5-4D66-AE48-809D878E3F66-27562-00002C1871BFFD77.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2F2ABD07-3DE5-4D66-AE48-809D878E3F66-27562-00002C1871BFFD77.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/2F2ABD07-3DE5-4D66-AE48-809D878E3F66-27562-00002C1871BFFD77.jpg" /></a> </lj-cut><br />
<lj-cut text="Mostly Horses...">So since the field opened up at my barn I've been doing a ton of just hacking around at the beginning and end of my rides. That crazy red mess is where I do my flatwork in the field, haha. This is a pretty typical ride, pretty crazy that I can go nearly 7 miles on any given day:P
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/6820A835-54B4-4FD6-96CA-5B9AD27D1AB7-27562-00002C184181B109.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 6820A835-54B4-4FD6-96CA-5B9AD27D1AB7-27562-00002C184181B109.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/6820A835-54B4-4FD6-96CA-5B9AD27D1AB7-27562-00002C184181B109.jpg" /></a> </lj-cut><br />
<lj-cut text="Mostly Horses...">Couple of shots from my ride, it is ALMOST spring here!! Alberta's a little slow:P<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/9052F902-602E-4318-A3F6-F6633FC129BA-27562-00002C184C1DD1BB.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 9052F902-602E-4318-A3F6-F6633FC129BA-27562-00002C184C1DD1BB.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/9052F902-602E-4318-A3F6-F6633FC129BA-27562-00002C184C1DD1BB.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/FC739EA4-CF33-4C44-8562-4BA381E03036-27562-00002C185D2B5C28.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo FC739EA4-CF33-4C44-8562-4BA381E03036-27562-00002C185D2B5C28.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/FC739EA4-CF33-4C44-8562-4BA381E03036-27562-00002C185D2B5C28.jpg" /></a> </lj-cut><br />
<br />
<lj-cut text="Mostly Horses...">I took Sunny out to graze while she dried off after I worked her today:) Thank god the grass is finally growing! And I just realized that the line down Sunny's neck from where I clipped her is pretty much invisible now! She's still shedding like mad though.
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/915770C1-E1D6-4F62-9486-EE400A020EF2-27562-00002C18CD94D10A.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 915770C1-E1D6-4F62-9486-EE400A020EF2-27562-00002C18CD94D10A.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/915770C1-E1D6-4F62-9486-EE400A020EF2-27562-00002C18CD94D10A.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s768.photobucket.com/user/superjess12/media/8C9ED57E-9109-46D3-9DFB-0693BF2B584D-27562-00002C18C1950718.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 8C9ED57E-9109-46D3-9DFB-0693BF2B584D-27562-00002C18C1950718.jpg" border="0" src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/superjess12/8C9ED57E-9109-46D3-9DFB-0693BF2B584D-27562-00002C18C1950718.jpg" /></a>
</lj-cut>albertaeventerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00436410249840877598noreply@blogger.com2